Spirited Away
by MeronS
Summary: A boy spirited away and a man struggling with his life. The two meeting was anything but fate but what followed would be whispered in the cursed forest for a long time.
1. Chapter 1: Spirited Away

A legend says that there was once a cursed forest and a small village.

And into that cursed forest one of the village's babies was abandoned.

The small baby was born to a poor family one dark night as thunder flashed and roared while rain pelted the roofs. The baby hadn't been planned as birth control and knowledge at the time weren't as advanced as they are today. Needless to say, the baby boy should've known the terrible fate that awaited him.

Unwanted babies during that time could end anywhere from ditches to forests. This time it was the latter.

But unlike the other cases, these two young parents didn't have what it took to kill a small baby. Instead, they had a basket, some clothes and a bottle of warm milk and took the baby to a nearby forest that just happened to also be cursed.

The people of the village reported hearing voices, seeing weird lights and even characters. The dense and dark nature of the woods itself didn't help either. There had been at least five children who had gotten lost in the forest during the time the family had lived in the village. Hunters would also often never return from their trips into the woods.

The baby didn't seem affected by the forest and the spirits that apparently lived there. Though, he had always been a weird child. During the short three years he had lived with his parents, the two had seen more than enough to come to the conclusion that the cursed forest would be the best place for their young son.

The child, named Shigeo Kageyama by his parents, was a weird kid. He wasn't fussy, loud or anything. He was just, well, weird. The baby would often stare at nothing for minutes and even smile and reach out to something that the parents couldn't see. The two adults would also often find their child playing alone. He would be very animated and even offer blocks and the other few toys he had to something that wasn't there.

The child never made any move to befriend the other children and they even shied away from the odd boy. It also didn't help that Shigeo's face portrayed no emotion whatsoever. It was rather scary to many of the villagers who believed in the supernatural and such. He never seemed lonely though or then the blank face made it impossible to know.

It was hard for the young couple to understand. Their son was the talk of the whole village. Everyone blamed the young boy for the loss of crops and the poor weathers the village had been plagued with following the birth.

It unnerved the fresh parents to no end and they were always trying to find an explanation to their son's weird behavior. In the end, the only thing they could think of was that their son was indeed cursed as the villagers whispered behind their backs. If the two adults wanted to be safe they would need to get rid of the child. They had even went to the village's doctor and heard the same thing they had concluded. The man couldn't find anything physically wrong with the child even after hours of testing and probing later.

The parents had had second thoughts as they watched their small son sleeping in his little basket. Especially the mother would've almost wanted to take and hold her baby, taking him back home to where it was warm and safe.

The husband told her that they had no money to take care of the boy in the way the wife wanted to. They were struggling themselves. A third mouth to feed these past three years had taken its toll. They hardly had any food in store for this year's winter. He also reminded the woman how they had agreed that the boy was indeed cursed and wouldn't stay with them for any longer.

The parents lingered before deciding to run from the basket and not turn back.

With heavy hearts the two sat by their table when they finally made it home. The home seemed quieter, empty.

Their life did get easier with the third family member gone.

They made sure to never visit the forest ever again. All evidence of there ever being a child in the family disappeared soon after.

It almost seemed like a curse had actually been lifted from the whole village. It was unclear if the small baby was the actual cause or if the belief made it all happen. The last harvest of the year was plentiful and no one would starve during the long and dark winter months.

In the end, everyone seemed to forget that a baby had been sacrificed for them all.

Kageyama Shigeo was never seen again.

Not a body or even a piece of clothing was found. The hunters told that a wolf or a fox might have eaten the small child.

The parents of the child went to live on. Another boy was born to the family but didn't meet the same fate as his big brother. The couple lived in the village until their death after which the son took over.

Life went on and no one said the name of the cursed child again.

No papers or spoken information of the child remained.

The dark stain in the village's history was forgotten.

But unbeknownst to everyone in the village, Kageyama Shigeo wasn't killed by some wild animal or starved to death.

The forest was indeed haunted, but not by what the villagers though.

The forest was full of spirits. Everything from spirits of the trees to the water in the lake. Everything in the forest had a spirit attached to it.

On the top of the food chain was a certain spirit named Dimple. He would manifest as a green dragon to people who would stray too far into his territory and eat them.

On the faithful day, Dimple just happened to be monitoring the forest, making sure to shoo away any unwanted spirits.

A group of small spirits were tailing Dimple, the most powerful spirit in the forest. Suddenly, they strayed from Dimple's shadow and went to see something one of them had pointed out.

Dimple went to follow the small spirits to see what they had found. Pure curiosity. He couldn't really care less.

He wasn't expecting what they found though. A moving basket.

Dimple carefully peeled the sheet off of the basket and poked his nose into the basket.

A hand grabbed his whiskers and pulled hard.

Dimple huffed loud and pulled his face up, taking the thing up with it.

"It's Mob!" one of the small spirits clapped its hands together in joy, "The child from the village who can see us!"

"He gave us the biscuits just the other day!" another one told Dimple who was now eyeing the small child clinging to his nose and cooing loudly.

The spirits dug through the basket for any more information, finding a bottle of milk and a note.

None of them could read human writing so they showed the note to Dimple, who could. He was much stronger after all.

"Shigeo Kageyama? A name perhaps?" Dimple squinted his eyes to see the text better.

"Shall we take Mob back home, Master Dimple?" a spirit asked, "To the cave."

Dimple glared at the small child now safely back in his basket sucking on the bottle one of the spirits held out for him.

The child stared back with no fear visible in his dark, emotionless eyes. He was the first. No human could stay calm after seeing Dimple's form. This child was clearly different. The green spirit couldn't help but feel a strange connection to the child.

The other spirits seemed attached to the child as well, seeing that they kept giving Dimple the worst puppy eyes.

Dimple sighed loudly, lowering his head back towards the basket once more to have a good look at the boy.

"Not much meat on those bones. Eating this thing wouldn't fill me up at all. Let's fatten him up a bit", Dimple told the spirits as he carefully lifted the basket up with his teeth.

The boy, that the small spirits were adamant on calling Mob, didn't even squeal as the basket rose up. He just seemed to snuggle into his blankets more, getting ready to enjoy the ride.

So that was how Mob came to live with Dimple and the other spirits.

He quickly became somewhat of a celebrity in the forest since many of the spirits had never seen a person before.

Mob didn't seem to mind at all and befriended most of the spirits he encountered.

The cave Dimple had lived in peace for years was now a lively place.

With help from the forest's spirits and the materials they brought with them a makeshift house was built. Well, it wasn't something you could really call a house but that was exactly what it was for little Mob who knew no better. The back of the cave had a wood floor now as well as a small fire pit in the middle and a bed tucked away in the furthest corner.

Even if Dimple always tried to show Mob and the rest how irritated and mad he was, he quite enjoyed the child's company. The new bed Mob had made for him was rather nice as well.

"Shigeo! Where are you going this time?" Dimple roared from somewhere deep in the cave as Mob tried to sneak out as he often did. The powerful spirit still refused to call Kageyama by his nickname and sometimes even got pissed off if the small spirits used the name too often. He didn't like the name 'Mob' that much. Maybe it was just his fatherly side talking but the name didn't fit the boy at all.

"We need some firewood! We might as well look for some food as well", a small spirit told Dimple from where he was sitting on Mob's shoulder. It was a small mushroom spirit who would often come to the cave and play with Mob alongside his other spirit friends.

"Hm", Mob nodded, showing Dimple that he agreed with the spirit.

"It's cold out there", was the only goodbye the two got before Dimple turned his side and lied back down.

It was all the spirit's weird way of showing affection. He was worried if the child had enough clothes on to survive the harsh winter of the mountainous forest.

The spirits would often steal the child clothes from the village, but socks without a pair and a random shirt or pants there and there wouldn't be enough. Good thing that they had made a leather jacket just the other month using animal skins they had collected throughout the previous year. Leaves, moss and other plant materials also made quite good insulation when used properly.

The winter was most definitely the worst time for the small family. Food was hard to find and the fact that the ground was frozen solid didn't really help either.

Luckily, after Mob moved in and Dimple made sure that that every spirit in the forest knew not to do as much as even touch the boy with ill intentions, the spirits began bringing them all kinds of things. As mentioned they would bring clothes but also food they would find.

For example, a fox spirit had visited them just that morning bearing a pouch full of berries. Mob had saved the spirit from a hunter's trap last week, leaving the spirit with a strong sense of respect towards the human child.

"What do you think we'll find today?" the spirit asked Mob. The boy had named the spirit Kinoko and the small thing had been quite attached to Mob ever since. It had showed the boy around the forest and helped him learn the skills needed to survive. Dimple would sometimes give Mob a lesson or two as well, but the strong spirit was often too busy or lazy to do so and left it to Kinoko.

"Berries", Mob mumbled as he jumped from an icy rock onto another without slipping even once. He had become quite nimble through the years he had lived in the forest.

"Good morning Mob!" a spirit greeted Mob from a tree, followed by another spirit. Soon the duo was joined by a bunch of other spirits who were there just to help Mob and Kinoko. That was nothing new as Mob was known throughout the whole forest and even the neighboring ones.

There was a pair of rock spirits, spirits of trees as well as mushrooms and other plants. There was even a water spirit present.

"Morning", Mob crouched down and shook a spirit's limb it had offered him alongside yet another greeting.

"What are you looking for?" the spirits asked Mob as they tugged on his sleeves to get onto the boy's shoulders and head. They liked to be higher up and Mob happened to be quite a bit taller than most of them despite just being a child.

"Food and firewood", Mob told his little friends who begun to tell and point out places they had last seen berries, mushrooms and nuts. They would even pull on Mob's hair if they thought that the boy was too slow to move to the place they had told him.

"Do you have a pouch? A basket?" another spirit asked as it dug out a handful of nuts from the frozen ground. It must've been some squirrel's hide. Poor thing would need to go hungry.

Mob took out one made of reed and let the spirit put the small nuts into it. He then moved to crouch next to another one and let it drop some frozen berries in.

"Is it enough? Are you hungry?" the spirits kept asking Mob, afraid that their friend didn't get enough to eat despite all their help. Mob looked skinny even when he was wearing all his winter clothes. His skin was also pale with a bluish red tint. To put it bluntly, the kid looked sick.

"It's good", Mob mumbled as he secured the pouch to his back. His hands would have to be free but he didn't want to risk dropping and ruining the rare food items.

"You sure? Should we go find more?"

"No need. Thank you", Mob smiled to the spirits snuggling to him.

The spirits often did that to show affection. It was rare of spirits to do so but Mob was a very rare exception. Some spirits had actually gone to spy on people while hunting for food to see how they showed love and other emotions to one another. They had decided that rubbing against each other must've been the way to go.

"Hello Mr. Wolf", Mob bowed his head as the group came across a wolf pack.

The forest was rather large. Everything from wolves to deer lived there. Mob had even seen an eagle couple fly just above his home cave.

The wolves took turns to smell the boy who suddenly looked rather small next to the large animals. They greeted Mob, who in turn pet their heads.

"Boss says that they saw a human downstream from here", Kinoko told Mob.

Boss was the leader of the pack. A huge alpha male with a scar on its face as well as a part of the left ear missing. Legends say that it had been a hunter's bullet that had done those both. The wolf was said to have killed the man and his friend after being shot at, saving its life.

"A hunter", another spirit added, "He's coming this way."

Mob nodded his head as a thank you to the wolf as the spirits told him that the pack would come to see them later and bring them some meat. They were on their way to see if they could find a deer or catch some fish from the stream. Sharing your catch among friends was the thing to do around this forest. Especially with Mob.

"You're going to see him?" Kinoko tugged on Mob's hair, "It's dangerous. Master Dimple will be angry with us."

"Yeah yeah", Mob mumbled as he made his way down the stream to where the man was said to be.

He couldn't help but get curious. Mob couldn't even remember how long it had been since he had last seen one. Usually Dimple made sure to chase away any people entering his place before Mob could catch a glimpse.

But what he could remember was the last time he had managed to meet with one. It hadn't ended well. He had almost gotten shot as the men had begun running after him. It was useless though. Mob knew the forest like his own pockets and quickly outran the men. The spirits might've also helped him a bit by moving the roots, making the chasers trip and fall onto their faces.

Mob quickly came to a halt.

He had seen a man. A blond man.

"Look. There he is!" Kinoko pointed.

Mob sneaked to spy on the clumsy man.

"He looks stupid", one spirit laughed.

Another one snickered as well as they watched the man try and stay on top of the huge banks of snow with his flimsy snow shoes. His weight proved to be too great as he sunk further and further with every step he took. It also didn't help that the man didn't seem to know where all the rocks, holes and roots were. He would often trip and fall face first to snow.

"What is he hunting for? I can't see a gun or anything", a spirit asked.

"True. Maybe he isn't a hunter after all", Kinoko shrugged.

"The wolves know hunters. The Boss wouldn't lie."

"Maybe he has traps", Mob suggested.

He and the spirits would have a search for those and disable them before they could hurt anyone. Mob had just saved the fox and nursed his leg as best as he could. He knew that they had been lucky. Those things could rip the paws right off and leave the animal with an unusable and rotting leg to carry around.

The mild weather yesterday had made an icy cover on top of the snow. And as luck would have it, Mob slipped and yelped as he fell onto a pile of fresh snow. He had taken a careless step as he was focused on the look on the man's face. He usually wasn't like this.

"Mob!" Kinoko screamed as the spirits watched the hunter perk up and close in to where they were hiding.

"The man is coming!"

"Get up!"

Mob quickly got up and shot up onto a rock. He would need to be on the higher ground in case he would have to face off with the hunter. Mob only had seconds to brush off the snow from his clothes before the man was in front of him.

They both stared at each other for a couple of minutes before either one did as much as moved.

Mob was the first to make a move. He had heard from the spirits that people did some things when they met a friend. Mob didn't see the point but he slowly waved his hand.

Too bad that Mob didn't get a wave back.

When Mob looked to see the man, there was only a huge hole in the snow.

Mob tilted his head. Maybe he should've shook hands first. He had heard of something like that as well.

"He fainted", Kinoko huffed, "People really are weak."

Mob only nodded as he jumped down to take a better look at the man in front of them. He carefully brushed off the snow on the man, eyeing the weird colored hair and the clothes.

"Let's take him back home with us", Mob suddenly told the spirits, "Help me carry him."

"Mob! That's a bad idea! Dimple will eat him whole and you'll be in house arrest for a hundred years!" Kinoko cried out as the other spirits flocked around the man tugging at the unknown material of the clothes and the snow shoes.

"He will freeze to death", Mob argued, "He looked lost."

Kinoko sighed and watched its friends lift the poor man up and drag him through the snow.

"Do whatever", it finally waved, "I won't help you when Dimple gets mad though."

Mob nodded as he took the bag the man had been carrying and put it on his back, beginning to guide the spirits on their long track back to the cave Mob lived in.

Sure Dimple would get mad but it was all worth it.

The man seemed way too interesting to pass.


	2. Chapter 2: The Meeting

"I keep telling you! We can't keep him!" a booming voice woke Reigen up from his deep sleep.

'Arguing?' the young male thought as he lifted his body from where he was lying.

He was rather surprised to notice that he had been lying on top of a pile of dried moss, covered by a ratty blanket. It was nice and warm, almost comfy.

Reigen had no idea how and when he had gotten here, much less where he was. The last thing he could remember was the face of a small boy. Maybe he had gotten drunk? But he hadn't had a single drop in weeks.

Before Reigen could dwell on the subject any more, there was a face right in front of Reigen's, staring at him. It was the same boy again.

"He's awake", the raven headed boy spoke in a calm, quiet voice. It was rather soothing to the ears. Like the sound of a wind chime in a calm summer evening.

The boy then turned and rose from where he had apparently been crouching by Reigen's side, keeping an eye on him this whole time. He went to fetch something from the middle of the room and soon returned with a mug of steaming liquid.

Reigen just now had the time to actually look around what he had assumed was a room. It was a room, of some sort, but nothing Reigen had ever seen before. They were in a cave. The floor was covered in wood. Moss and other stuff was used as insulation to keep the winter cold out.

Reigen couldn't find a reason to hate the place. It seemed nice actually if the somewhat weird smell was forgotten. He could definitely get used to this. With time.

"Here", Reigen was offered a funny-looking cup. It was tea. Probably. There were still leaves visible in the mix though. Reigen couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at that.

'Self-made?' Reigen eyed the cup. It was made of clay but much more ragged than those you could buy at the store. Not that he complained. He quite liked the unique look of the item. Mass-produced items had never really been his thing.

As the boy continued staring at his new guest, Reigen took a careful sip out of his drink.

Reigen could definitely taste ginger in there as well as some other spices he couldn't name. Lavender maybe? Daisy even?

"I-It's good", Reigen told the boy, nervous. He wasn't used to being watched and the boy's unwavering gaze was getting to his nerves. The motionlessness of the eyes didn't help much either. Reigen couldn't read the boy at all. All he knew the boy could've been waiting for an opening to jump and attack him.

Reigen was then offered a cup of berries from the boy he learned was called Mob.

As Reigen enjoyed his small meal, there was a rustle from where the man could only assume the opening of the cave was located.

A loud sigh could be heard before a monster came to view, dragging its long body on the stone floor making a loud noise.

It was dark in the cave. The only source of light being the fire pit in the middle.

"W-Wha-What is that?! Mob?!" Reigen dropped his cup, quickly catching it before it hit could hit the ground and break. It would've been a shame if it broke.

"Master Dimple", Mob explained, calm.

Reigen couldn't help but let out a small snort at the name. 'Dimple' didn't sound that great or powerful. It sounded ridiculous.

Dimple seemed to understand what Reigen was thinking and shot a glare towards the man, who shied away.

Dimple came closer and closer to the fire and only now could Reigen see the beast in its full glory.

Dimple was a dragon. At least he looked like one of those dragons you could see in the fantasy books Reigen had loved when he was still a kid.

The first thing that caught the eyes was the green color. There was a touch of red there and there but the dragon was mostly a bright green color that Reigen thought could be of no use in the forest. It was nothing but camouflage.

Dimple's body was covered in what seemed like fur, a glimmering scale shining through there and there. The long body was slim, ending in a tuff of green hair at the end of the tail.

Only the front legs were visible to the eye. The back legs were covered by the coiling body trying its best to fit in the cave. The legs were like those of a bird's. They were brownish grey in color. The sharp talons were much darker. Definitely able to crush a skull with a single squeeze.

Dimple slowly lowered his large head to Mob's level, letting out a long breath that messed up the boy's hair.

Mob didn't seem to mind much and only pet the nose of his so called master.

The head was bigger than the boy. Fluffy tuffs of hair on the cheeks made the head seem much larger than it actually was. Long whiskers moved with every breath the beast took.

Reigen was fairly sure he caught a glimpse of horns as well on top of the beast's head where the ears moved with every sound of their surroundings.

The yellow eyes trailed back to Reigen after making sure that the boy was safe and unharmed. The striking eyes were made even scarier by the big red dots under them.

Dimple let out what could only be interpreted as a low growl, lowering his head all the way to the ground. He then continued to protectively wrap a part of his long body around Mob, covering most of the small boy.

"You're lucky I'm full", Dimple finally growled after ten minutes of tense staring, "I don't feel like eating a human today."

"No!" Mob told Dimple. Reigen was unable to see the boy at this point.

"What do you mean 'no'? You didn't bring this human for me to eat?"

"No", Mob nodded.

"Then why? He is clearly a hunter. What have I told you about hunters my boy?"

Reigen had to correct the mighty beast at this point, "I'm no hunter. Well, I am a hunter but not that kind of hunter."

Dimple turned his head to watch the man, "Explain, human."

Reigen stood up from where he had been sitting this whole time, took a pose and cleared his throat, "My name is Reigen Arataka! I am the world-known Spirit Hunter!"

"Reigen the Spirit Hunter?" Mob rolled the name on his tongue. The name sounded weird to him who had lived with spirits for most of his life.

"Yes!" Reigen nodded. He could begin to feel a strange energy around him as he stood still, keeping his pose. It made him feel rather uncomfortable.

"It's the spirit hunter!" a small voice said.

"That's him?" another asked.

"Kinoko?" Mob escaped from the grip of his master and lifted something up.

Reigen had to rub his eyes and have another look. It was a mushroom. A moving mushroom.

"That's the man I keep telling you about!" the mushroom explained, "He keeps doing all these weird things."

"They're not 'weird things'! I'm making spirit traps!" Reigen huffed, "The people have been complaining about socks going missing as well as footsteps and other hauntings."

"We're not stealing anything", Kinoko huffed, "No one will ever miss a single sock. They lost it in the first place."

"I guess you're right", Reigen had to admit.

"You're not any good", a spirit snickered, "Those traps don't do a thing. And what do you mean 'world-known' you small-fry?"

"Hey!"

The little argument lasted for some time more before the spirits got tired and stopped, leaving the man doubting his skills as well as frustrated.

Most of the spirits had told him that they had never heard of him and it made Reigen think of his advertising methods. He would need to find a way to get to the spirits as well. Maybe he'd come and give ads to them directly in the forest. He could perform something too and show them that he was no hoax as the spirits had claimed.

Mob had moved back to the fire at some point and was now preparing something for them all to eat. It smelled absolutely delicious.

"Guess I'll put eating you on a hold for a little while", Dimple mumbled from where he was coiled in a dark corner of the cave, "Little Shigeo seems to have taken a liking towards you. Well, it's no surprise."

"Shigeo? Isn't his name Mob?" Reigen asked the spirit. Dimple seemed rather placid so the man gathered the courage and spoke back.

"Shigeo Kageyama. The spirits like calling him Mob for some reason."

"Why does he live with you? He is a human, isn't he? Did you kidnap a small boy? You're fattening him up, aren't you?"

It looked almost as if the large spirit was smirking at Reigen's comment, "It's not like you could understand. You people never understand each other."

Reigen huffed. He couldn't understand what people had to do with this. The spirits had the boy.

"You're a weird human", Dimple chuckled, watching the man's face.

"I prefer Reigen, thank you."

Dimple turned his head and concluded the small conversation over.

Reigen would need to have patience and wait for the explanation for some time more.

But one thing was certain, he would find out the mystery behind the boy even if it would be the last thing he did. He was way too curious to drop the subject.


	3. Chapter 3: Feels Like Home

The food was delicious. Reigen first tasted it out of sheer politeness but kept eating when it ended up actually being edible. To be fair, a poor salaryman like him had no use being picky about food. Especially if it was offered to him and was free as well as delicious.

There was something Reigen could tell were root vegetables, some fish and unknown spices mixed into a mush of a soup and served in yet another one of those clay pots. There were no spoons or forks but Reigen took Mob's example and tipped the bowl to pour the meal straight into his mouth. He'd need to teach the boy some manners later. Mob was slurping rather loudly.

The little spirits had gathered around Mob once again and were now sitting all over him. The mushroom, named Kinoko Mob had told Reigen, was sitting right on top of Mob's head enjoying a bunch of berried it had gotten from somewhere. The rest were either begging for scraps from Mob or eating something of their own. A nice family meal.

The little spirit kept glancing towards Reigen, shooting him a taunting gaze and a smirk. Reigen tried his best not to be affected by it. He was the adult here. At least he thought so. He had no idea how old the spirits were but he considered himself to be the oldest around here. At least mentally.

Dimple wasn't eating. He was satisfied with just lying his huge head next to Mob and watching his little protégé enjoy his meal. He must've also been making sure that any moves Reigen would even try to make towards Mob would be stopped altogether.

As Reigen spent more and more time in the cave, he learned how special the small gesture of Mob sharing a meal with him actually was.

The winter outside was harsh and finding food was a serious task. Reigen remembered how he had walked through the forest not seeing even a single edible thing the whole time. Mob must've been much more experienced but Reigen couldn't help but worry. The ground was rock solid and there was a ton of snow on top of it as well. Mob not having any mittens or other hand gear didn't help with Reigen's anxiety.

Reigen could hardly see any food items in the cave. There were some dried up leaves hanging from the walls and the ceiling as well as some sealed pots stored away in a corner of the cave.

Reigen had no idea how the boy had managed to get the berries Reigen had been given some time earlier. They burned in his stomach now. He felt guilty eating the sweet treat.

For dessert the group enjoyed a warm cup of water with a generous amount of honey mixed in.

Mob explained that honey would stay good for a long time and was easy to store.

Reigen could only think how hard the thing was to get. He had gotten stung by a bee once when he had been a bratty teenager poking a nest. He had cried for three hours straight after that.

Reigen couldn't imagine how many times the small boy must've gotten stung getting just these couple spoons of the stuff. Definitely more than once. If you asked Reigen, it wasn't worth it although the honey was good.

"A-A wolf!" Reigen screamed out as he saw a figure in the cave's entrance, "There's a wolf trying to get in!"

He had been enjoying the warmth of the fire and the furs Mob had surrounded them with. It was very cozy. If they only had some hot chocolate and marshmallows. Reigen made a mental note to bring the said items with him the next time he would visit the forest.

"It's Boss", Mob told Reigen, standing up and running to the large animal, embracing it.

Reigen closed his eyes, fearing for the worst. The little boy would get eaten by hungry wolves instead of starving or freezing.

The wolf leaned to the touch, letting Mob pet its thick and fluffy winter coat.

Instead of screams, Reigen heard what must've been happy sounds from the huge canines. He opened his eyes to see the creatures wagging their tail and jumping around. Well, this was weird.

A bunch of other wolves joined the two, demanding to be snuggled as well. Mob did as told.

"What did you do this time?" Dimple sighed.

"Nothing", Mob tried to say as an enthusiastic young wolf licked his face clean.

"If you say so. You ought to stop making so many friends. My cave isn't a hotel."

"They won't be staying for long", Kinoko translated to Mob, "They came to bring the meat they had promised earlier."

"A wolf never breaks a promise", another spirit agreed.

A wolf broke from the pack and gave mob a single half-frozen salmon. Just a small fish, but more than enough to get by for some time. Mob would need to put it in the snow so that the fish would stay good. Good thing that it was winter or the meat would've gone bad in days.

Mob thanked the wolves and offered them some warm water to drink and warm them up. The canines took the offer and lapped the liquid from the big pot Mob had given them. They even took turns when all of them didn't fit.

The wolves even took the time to defrost their paws. Right next to Reigen, who kept flinching away each time one of the huge animals would do as much as move or make a single sound.

"Boss says that it had begun to snow again. There is a blizzard coming", Kinoko told Mob as the boy lied beside the warm animals.

Reigen quickly stood up and ran to the cave's entrance to see if what the spirit said was true. The weather report hadn't said a thing about snowing or blizzards. It was supposed to be cold but sunny the whole day. He didn't have the equipment needed for such harsh weather.

But as Reigen got out, he was hit with a dense wall of snowfall. The wind had picked up too, slamming the icy snow down with much more force than needed.

Reigen returned back into the cave, looking defeated. How was he going to get back home if the weather was like this? He would get lost and eaten by the same wolves lying in the cave with him right now.

"Well well, don't you look deflated", Dimple snickered from where he was warming his old bones by the fire, trying to clear all the knots he had managed to get his long body in.

"I am! How am I going to get home now?!" Reigen huffed, crossing his hands on his chest as he heard other spirits mock him. They were saying how weak people were. Defeated by a blizzard of all things.

"Stay", Mob yawned, moving a wolf's tail out of his face.

"Huh?" Reigen had to make sure that he heard the boy right.

Mob didn't speak much. Reigen had noticed that right away. But when the boy actually spoke, he spoke almost as if he was whispering. His voice would be monotone, calm and quiet. Very hard to hear and understand altogether. Not that Reigen would complain. He was happy that the boy didn't speak some spirit language he couldn't understand.

"Stay here", Mob repeated, a bit louder this time.

"I can stay here for the night?"

Mob nodded slowly, yawning once again.

"No he can't", Dimple growled, glaring at Mob. Of course he was proud that the boy was deciding things and acting on his own, but why did the decision have to include a human and their home cave.

Mob just stared back, not faced by the beast's gleaming eyes.

"Please", Mob said. It was almost a whine. Mob never whined. Heck, he never even asked for anything.

That got Dimple. A sharp pain in his chest.

Dimple tried to avoid looking at Mob, glaring at Reigen instead, "Fi-Fine then! It can't be helped. But just for this one night!"

Dimple coiled back into a huge ball and turned to face a cave wall.

If it was possible, Reigen bet the creature would be blushing like mad, sulking.

"The power of the puppy eyes, huh?" Reigen smiled as he checked to see if his phone had any signal. Of course it didn't. They were in the middle of nowhere.

Mob just tilted his head in question. He didn't understand the word or its meaning.

Not that Reigen would explain it either.

"No. I'm not sleeping in your bed again", Reigen and Mob were having an argument over the sleeping arrangements.

Mob was insisting that Reigen sleep in his bed and Reigen was declining the offer again and again.

Dimple huffed loudly. He wanted to sleep and the two shouting at each other didn't help. Well, Reigen shouting and Mob mumbling.

The spirit finally made a decision and lifted his head up from a stack of hay, his pillow, and took hold of Mob's neck. He hauled the boy to him and snuggled back down, wrapping around the boy. Mob would sleep in his bed tonight.

"Well, alright", Reigen shrugged. He had no say in this argument anymore. He would be sleeping in Mob's bed again.

Dimple shot a final glare at the man as Reigen lifted the blanket to sneak under it. It went unnoticed by the tired blond.

Dimple buried his head right next to the sleeping child, letting out a long breath before settling down to sleep himself. He wasn't a heavy sleeper and would make sure to be alert if something was to happen.

He was surprisingly content with the situation they were in. Although there was a strange man in their cave, Mob being happy was all Dimple needed. The boy had spoken a lot more and Dimple could've sworn he had seen a ghost of a smile as well.

Reigen woke up the following morning.

He was disoriented and cold, not really remembering where he was.

Reigen felt the material of his weird bed. This wasn't his soft pillow back home.

Reigen slowly opened his eyes, stretching his feet and legs wide like a starfish.

The hands sliding across the bed could feel the fleece of some animal, hay, moss and even feathers. This bed wasn't just something hastily put together. It was more comfortable than most hotel beds Reigen had slept in.

He was tempted to lie around a minute or two more but the cold air of the winter morning was getting to him. He'd need to get moving if he wanted to stay warm.

Maybe he could get breakfast stared before Mob woke up? Yeah, he could do that. As a thank you for yesterday. The boy had saved his life twice.

Reigen slowly stood up and went to his rucksack. He was fairly certain he had packed some instant noodles with him. He never went anywhere without instant food. He was technically fueled by it.

The man went to where he had observed Mob prepare yesterday's meals. There were two pots. Clearly someone's old ones abandoned quite some time ago.

Reigen then located the water in a barrel. There was some rust peeking through the painted surface but the thing was otherwise in almost perfect condition. People really did dump weird stuff in the forests. Reigen had read an article earlier on the subject. It was beginning to get to the point where it was a real problem. Reigen had actually seen a fridge on his way here, just dumped next to some old tree. He'd need to personally do something about it now that he knew of Mob and the others living in the forest.

A pot was filled carefully with water and brought to the middle of the cave where the fire pit was. Reigen only spilled some of the water onto his feet.

Now Reigen knew why it had been so cold. The fire had gone out somewhere during the night. Reigen carefully poked the charred remains of logs. He had found the pile of dry wood and taken a couple good sticks and logs he now threw onto the pile, igniting the thing with his lighter. He bet Mob had a technique to it but Reigen could cheat a bit this morning. He didn't feel like rubbing some twigs together, waiting for a spark.

Reigen heard a long, dragged breath behind him as he stirred the boiling water. He'd add the noodles in soon.

It was Dimple. The spirit quietly stared at whatever Reigen was doing while keeping absolutely still. Mob was still sleeping and neither wanted to wake the boy up. He had looked rather tired last night.

"I'm making some breakfast", Reigen explained, "Do you know where the tea is?"

Dimple flashed his teeth to the man as a warning not to try anything funny before moving his eyes towards a pot sitting by the other food items. Dimple kept his eyes glued to the man as he moved to look if he understood what the spirit had told him nonverbally. He huffed quietly as the man finally found the dried leaves, moving his eyes back to the fire.

Mob woke up later as Reigen was trying to find dishes to serve the noodles in.

All he could find were clay cups. Guess they had to do with those. He'd explain to Mob what a plate was. As well as chopsticks. He actually had a pair with him. He might as well give them to Mob now.

There was a small yawn and a groan from Dimple's way.

The spirit moves his body to give the boy some space while still keeping the small body warm.

"Morning. Slept well?" Dimple asked as he lifted Mob up and put him down next to the fire saving the boy the work of climbing on top of the spirit's big body while still half asleep.

"Mm", Mob nodded, rubbing the remains of sleep out of his eyes.

"Good morning", Reigen smiled, watching the boy's adorable antics.

Before managing to answer the greeting, Mob's nose catched the new smell floating in the cave.

"The stupid human was making something weird. It's probably poisoned", Dimple floated to Mob's side.

Reigen had to cover his mouth so that he wouldn't laugh right in the spirit's face.

Dimple had apparently decided to change his form this morning. His before glorious, huge body was now just a blob of energy. Still green in color, with bright red cheeks and a ridiculous-looking face.

"I-I was making noodles. Do you want any?" Reigen asked, stiff stifling a laugh.

Mob stared at the cup offered to him.

"Worms", he finally mumbled after a while.

The spirits that had come to see what Mob had nodded in agreement.

"Definitely worms", one said.

"Worms", another agreed.

"They're no worms!" Reigen laughed. He had to agree that the noodles did in fact look like worms, "Try them. I even have chopsticks for you."

The breakfast was weird to say the least.

Mob had absolutely no idea how to use the chopstick offered to him and Reigen ended up half feeding the boy the noodles. They were hard to eat in the boy's usual way so they would have to be fed to him if there was any hope of not making a mess and actually getting the food into the boy's mouth.

Mob kept staring at the salt Reigen had with him. He had spiced the meal up a bit with it. He usually used it with the spirits but it would have to return to being a spice this morning.

After asking Mob what he used in making his food taste good, Reigen was half covered with different kinds of herbs, roots and all other things. Reigen knew what a couple of them were but for most of them he had absolutely no idea.

At least the boy enjoyed the meal. It was much bigger than the ones he normally would have and definitely one of the tastiest he had had. At least Reigen wanted to believe it was so.

Mob gave the spirits strands of noodles as well which they ate happily. They didn't admit that it was good but Reigen could see it in their faces.

Dimple stayed by Mob's side the whole time, uncharacteristically not making a single remark.

"You're leaving?" Kinoko asked Reigen as the man threw his rucksack on.

"Yeah. I need to get home and the snowfall has stopped too", Reigen nodded, "Oh right! I forgot something."

Reigen took off his jacket and wrapped it around Mob. It was his best fluff jacket. It was warm and soft and would definitely be much more appreciated on Mob.

Mob blushed, flailing his hands as if trying to shake the jacket off of him.

"No, no. It's for you", Reigen explained, "You saved my life."

"Cold", Mob mumbled as he eyed Reigen buttoning up the jacket, putting the thing on properly.

"It's not that cold outside. I'll be fine. It's just a short walk."

Mob fidgeted some more before finally giving up and nodding quietly.

"You can guide me back to the forest's edge if you want. I bet I'll get lost by myself", Reigen told Mob, trying to make the boy feel more useful.

"Hm!" Mob smiled a little, carefully taking Reigen's hand to his own.

Mob and Reigen were the leaders of a true parade through the winter forest.

Both spirits and animals joined to follow the two, all greeting the little boy as they joined in.

Reigen had only fallen once with Mob by his side guiding him. The boy really knew the forest.

It also helped that Mob fixed Reigen's snow shoes a bit. They now kept the man on top of the snow banks much better than before.

"Is that a raccoon dog? I didn't know they had them in here!" Reigen admired the amount of animals following them. Both beasts and prey were calmly walking together like they were the best of friends.

"Tanuki is a spirit of the forest", Kinoko explained, "That raven there is one too."

Reigen eyed the black bird sitting on Mob's head as it croaked right at him, "It's hard to tell. They all look like animals to me."

"That's the point. You hunters might've even shot and killed a god."

"I keep telling you! I'm not that kind of a hunter!"

The edge of the forest came to view much faster than Reigen could've expected. He thought that they would've had to walk for at least two hours. It had only been one or even less. Mob really knew each and every shortcut there was in this forest. Reigen would've walked around aimlessly for the whole day before getting home. Mob really saved him once again.

Mob stopped where the forest line ended. He made no move to follow Reigen to the country road only a short distance away.

"I'll be going then", Reigen told Mob, "Do you think I can come back to see you again?"

"Absolutely not", Dimple huffed, still in his smaller form.

Mob just blushed, nodding very faintly.

"I'll bring you something else too. What would you like? Sweets? More noodles? How about a bowl of ramen?" Reigen asked, flipping his phone open. He checked to see that his signal was back on. He could finally use his GPS to get home.

"Sweets?" as expected, Mob had no idea what the words meant. He only knew what noodles were since they had had them only this morning. Sweets sounded the best to him.

"Alright", Reigen nodded, "For now, I'll give you this."

Reigen gave Mob all the salt he had with him hoping that he wouldn't come across any evil spirits on his way home.

"That'll make your food taste good. Put it on meat. Do you understand? Meat?"

Mob nodded, hugging the small pouch of salt he had gotten. He'd use it carefully.

"Well, I'll be going now", Reigen nodded, turning to make his way back to town.

Mob let out a small squeak, stopping Reigen dead on his track.

"What is it?" Reigen turned to see Mob just standing there, "Do you have something for me?"

Mob nodded furiously before darting back into the woods.

Reigen waited for a good ten minutes before the boy returned again, arms full on what looked like herbs.

Reigen came to the boy and accepted the herbs, "Thank you. What are these for though? I have no idea."

Mob began to point to his stomach, head and feet before pointing back to the individual plants and again to the parts of the body.

"For aches?" Reigen asked, unsure.

Mob nodded, smiling a bit in triumph. He had managed to get his message through. He was afraid that he couldn't with his small vocabulary.

"I'll really be going now", Reigen smiled, "I'll come back soon though. Don't worry."

Mob's face showed no emotion but it was clear that he was rather upset to part with his new friend.

"I promise", Reigen assured, placing a hand atop his heart and crossing it. Of course Mob didn't understand the meaning but he did understand what the words meant. Promises were not meant to be broken. Reigen would be back.

Mob nodded before vanishing back into the woods. Reigen could only see flashes of the boy's back as he jumped on the icy rocks.

"You really shouldn't get too attached", Dimple warned, having stayed behind, "That boy isn't like you."

"I know", Reigen told the spirit with confidence, "But I can't help it. I'm curious. I want to know him."

"You humans really are stupid creatures. Knowing things really isn't always the best thing. Do you think you'll be happy knowing why Shigeo is here?"

"I have no idea before you tell me!" Reigen threw his hands up to the air.

"It's nothing of your concern. After all, it happened hundreds of years ago", was all Dimple told before flying away deep into the forest, leaving Reigen with more questions than answers.


	4. Chapter 4: Unexpected Visitors

Reigen had turned his small apartment over. It looked like a wild animal or a bulldozer had paid him a visit and thrown everything there was to throw onto the floor and furniture. Good thing that the apartment had been due for some very late spring cleaning, in the middle of the winter. Better late than never.

"Found them!" Reigen sighed triumphantly as he surfaced from a pile of clothes, holding a sweater and some pants. A pair of stray boxers had found its way on Reigen's head and was now hanging from one of his ears.

He had gone through all of his old clothes and found many pieces he would later give Mob. They were clothes from the times he was still in school, saved in the dark corners of his drawers and closets. They were hopelessly too small and partly even threadbare to the point there were patches and other fixes in the knees and hems.

Reigen could remember how his mother had always been patching them up after school, whining that her son couldn't keep even a shirt in one piece. The socks she could understand.

It was quite a lot of fun. Not only was he looking for clothes for his new little friend but he was also reliving his good old memories. His school years had been fun. And although Reigen wasn't the most popular kid, he was a good speaker and in good terms with everyone, even the teachers. He hadn't been athletic or especially good at any certain subject but he had had fun all the same.

"Almost done", Reigen nodded as he eyed the piles of clothes he had collected, "Now to the kitchen."

While Reigen was going through his plates and silverware, there was a loud knock on the door. It cause Reigen to jump a bit and hit his head on a cabinet roof.

"I'm com-!" Reigen screamed as he tried to maneuver his body up from where he was sitting on the floor. A big pot dropped right on top of his head with a loud crash before he could finish his sentence. It left Reigen rather shaken as he made his way towards the door, a wobble in his step.

"If it's some door to door selling thing, I'm not interested!" Reigen sighed as he decided to leave the chain onto the door, just in case, as he opened the door to see who it was who had disturbed his important mission. Reigen couldn't help but hope that he looked somewhat presentable even when wearing pajamas in the evening. They were very comfortable working clothes.

"Good morning", a strange man smiled at Reigen, waving his hand.

There was a long pause where Reigen was tempted to slam the door shut and get back to whatever he had been doing, "Who the? I'm not expecting any visitors today."

The man's forced smile fell, "And here I thought I knew how to do it."

A small girl popped her head from behind the man's back. She had big brown eyes and a bob-cut of the same color. She was dressed in a long jacket while the man had a black suit and a red tie.

"I told you to introduce yourself first", the girl whispered, "Otherwise you'll look suspicious."

The man sighed loudly, running a hand through his short black hair, "It's me, Dimple. That's Kinoko right there."

"I could've introduced myself", the girl, Kinoko, mumbled.

"I must be dreaming", Reigen mumbled as he went to close the door. He really should've done that in the first place.

Dimple was faster though and slammed his foot in between, "Hey, hey. Are all humans this rude?"

"Is it really you Dimple?" Reigen questioned. No other spirit he had met was this rude. He hadn't spoken with that many spirits before Dimple so he really had no way of comparing.

"Of course! I do all kinds of things but I don't lie!" Dimple huffed, forcing the door open, "You know how hard it is to keep this form? Let us in already."

Kinoko followed close behind as the spirit stomped into the apartment, uninvited. At least she had the manners to take off her shoes.

"You really ought to clean this place. It's a mess", Dimple crossed his arms and legs as he sat down on the half-covered sofa, dropping a pile of undone laundry onto the floor, "And that's a lot coming from me. I live in a cave."

"It's usually not like this!" Reigen argued, "Your sense of a good timing is just the worst."

"I take that as a compliment", Dimple nodded as he made space for Kinoko to sit beside him. Freshly ironed dress shirts went next, right onto the floor in a messy pile. Dimple placed his legs on top of them for good measure.

Reigen knew that there was no use trying to teach the two spirits manners so he gave up and took the blame for the dirty apartment and poor welcome. He was fairly certain that the mess didn't even matter to the two spirits, but Dimple just had to tease him for something.

"You want any tea?" he asked as he made his way back into the kitchen, dodging the pans on the floor.

"Can I have some noodles?" Kinoko asked while Dimple just shook his head.

Reigen made the said item and joined the two spirits in the living room area, sitting on a vacant chair.

"Speak", Reigen sipped his cup of coffee. He needed one right about now. Otherwise he wouldn't be responsible if he suddenly attacked the man in front of him.

"You should be bowing down to us and offering us a sacrifice but whatever. I'm way too tired and clumsy in this form to make you", Dimple scoffed, "Go a hundred years back and you would be kissing our feet."

"Well, sorry for living in the 21th century. We really don't believe in the supernatural that much", Reigen explained. He was very disappointed in it himself. People like him who studied the unknown and unseen were treated like madmen.

After another two or three minutes of small talk, Dimple changed positions and cleared his throat.

"How about we get into business?" he asked, eyeing Kinoko who was slurping her noodles, getting the stuff all over them both.

"Business?" Reigen had to ask. He had no idea what the spirits had come to his place for. He was getting interested.

"You wanted to know more about Shigeo. I'm here to tell you all about it."

"Please do", Reigen nodded, taking another sip out of his coffee.

"I only hope that you understand not the get involved after learning the truth. Nothing else."

"Do you know of witches?" Dimple began with a question. It irritated Reigen. He didn't like people who begun their conversations with a question in hopes of getting their opponent awake and attentive for the rest of the conversation.

"Yeah, I've read about them. The ones in Europe began around 1450, right?" Reigen tried his best to remember what he had read from the history books in school. Good thing that history had been one of those subjects he had even the slightest motivation towards. If Dimple had asked anything about the more complicated math, Reigen would've paled and admitted that he had no idea at all.

"The year does not matter. Do you know what happened during that time?"

"People who were seen as different or weird were being executed for being witches? But definitely not in Japan."

"There are no written reports, yes."

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"Because these two things could be related."

"I still don't get it."

"Shut up and I'll explain", Dimple sighed, rather frustrated with the man's attitude.

"Time flows different for you humans and us, so I can't give you an exact year. I know you humans love those so I'm sorry to disappoint", Dimple begun, "I don't know the details. Only what the spirits have told me."

"Kinoko is one of the only spirits left who has been with Mob since the very beginning. Humans destroying the forest and building their houses has left us with weak and dying."

"We were just walking in our forest like usual. The autumn was at its best so we were enjoying the colorful leaves", Kinoko explained, "Then one of my friends heard what they thought was a cry and we went to look for the source. We're really curious you know."

"I followed the little ones. I was to account to them and there had been this mean spirit coming to the forest lately", Dimple smirked remembering how he had later fought that spirit and won by a landslide.

"And there we found a baby. It was the baby from the village who could see us. All of us were always paying him visits. He would play with us and give us food. We called him Mob", Kinoko smacked Dimple for smiling during such a serious conversation.

"The little thing was determined to come with us", Dimple nodded, holding his now bleeding nose, "He even hung to my whiskers and nose. It hurt and stank."

"So you're telling me that you found a small baby in the forest and just decided to keep it and raise it as your own? What is this, a movie?" Reigen felt like laughing now. It all sounded too weird to be true.

"It was better for the boy to be spirited away. There was no loving home left for him to return to", Dimple squeezed his hand into a fist. It pissed him off to no end just to think about it.

"The small village had been experiencing bad crops as well and sickness and other bad things. Then they found out that a boy had been born around the same time these things had begun. Upon further investigation they realized that the boy wasn't normal", Kinoko explained as they had been there, the spirits. They had seen the parents' struggle and the building animosity in the village.

"Mob was a sacrifice", Reigen whispered as the pieces finally clicked together, "The parents took him to the forest so that the other villagers couldn't kill him."

"It wasn't like the parents would've come back for him. They hardly had the food to feed themselves", Dimple told, "He was dead where he lied."

"So you took him?"

"I first thought of fattening him up a bit before eating him myself", Dimple admitted with a shrug.

"Dimple is an evil spirit", Kinoko filled in.

"I'm actually a wandering evil spirit. I had just come to the area. To be fair, I had eaten a couple of the village's men, nothing else."

"You felt guilty for bringing misfortune to the village that in turn sacrificed a baby you found", Reigen was mad. If Dimple hadn't come, the boy could've lived a loving life with his parents.

"I did nothing! It was the spirit before me! I came and chased him away", Dimple growled, "The land was already doomed before I got there. There was nothing to be done!"

"Arguing won't change a thing", Kinoko mumbled, "Please stay in the topic."

"Mob joined us that day", Dimple huffed, a small smile tugging at his lips when he remembered those times.

"We had always been watching the humans in the village so we knew how to care for a baby", Kinoko explained, "Mob was the calmest and sweetest baby there was."

"But there was only one problem", Dimple added, "Shigeo was a human."

"We thought that we could take care of one human baby. It definitely wasn't the hardest thing we've ever done", Kinoko nodded.

"Too bad Mob proved to be much more than what the little ones were used to. Little Shigeo has powers", Dimple said, proud, "That's partly why all the spirits are so attached to him."

"What powers?" Reigen had to ask. He hadn't noticed anything different about the boy. He was just a normal human in Reigen's eyes.

"He is what you might call an Esper. A person who can see spirits and use similar powers to those of ours", Dimple told him.

"How come I can see you then?"

"Right now we're meant to be seen. Back in the cave it was all Mob's power. He wanted you to see us so you did. Maybe some of his power had even leaked to you."

"Alright, alright. But there's one thing that doesn't make sense to me. How old is Mob? He looks like a little kid!"

"Mob's body is 14. The environment has left him a bit small for his age but that's how old his body is", Kinoko informed him, lowering the now empty bowl and placing it onto the sofa table, "He ages differently from both us and humans."

"He's some sort of a demi human then?" Reigen pondered.

"If you want to put it that way then please do", Dimple waved, "I think that he's been with us for so long that his body has become like ours. That's all."

"I won't answer any more questions. The conversation is over", Dimple sighed, "If you really want to know more you'll need to find that out yourself."

'So he isn't really telling me to leave Mob alone?' Reigen smiled a bit. Even the spirit had noticed how much the boy enjoyed human company.

Reigen was more than confused by the time the two spirits were done with their explanation and closed the door behind them, leaving the man alone in his messy apartment. Dimple had even made sure to lock the chains as he left. Somehow.

"Mob is a human but not. He is a spirit but not", Reigen mumbled as he paced around the living room, creating a pathway through the junk and clothes lying there, "Both the strong spiritual energy of the forest as well as Mob's is keeping the boy alive. Dimple is a strong spirit and the guardian of the forest. Of course he could do something like keeping a boy alive."

While the talk itself had left Reigen confused, he had decided something. Something he had had in mind ever since meeting the boy.

Reigen would introduce Mob to the joys of living as a human. He would become the boy's first human friend and teach him all the necessary things.

They would eat junk food, watch movies and do all these awesome things together. Reigen was sure Mob would like it seeing how curious the boy had been about the noodles and the salt.

Reigen almost felt like he had become a big brother all of a sudden. He felt protective over the boy just like he thought that the spirits must feel.

"Well, I better get these things packed up", Reigen huffed, rolling his sleeves up, "Mob might already be waiting for me."


	5. Chapter 5: A Fashionista is Born

The winter was already turning to spring when Reigen finally found the time to return to the forest.

Although feeling bad about the long time that had passed, he was comforted by the fact that time flowed differently for the two of them. These past months must've felt like only a couple weeks or even days for Mob.

Too bad Reigen wasn't only a Spirit Hunter. He was also a regular salaryman, working long hours even on most weekends. There had been some problems in the business, so Reigen was stuck working much more than he would've wanted to. His neck and eyes definitely felt the added hours. Sitting in front of a screen was a lot harder than it seemed.

Not to mention that he needed all the money he could get. If Reigen wanted to give Mob all the nice things he had planned, he would need to earn more than a mere salaryman's paycheck read. He was also behind in paying his bills.

His boss had finally noticed the man's discomfort and simply told him to take a day or two off. Reigen had been working hard since day one of being hired and hit off a lot of important deals for the business. Surely he deserved a little break now and again.

"Come back when you can sit still for more than two minutes. There's clearly something on your mind. A girlfriend maybe? Go and sort that out before coming back to work", the boss had simply said before giving Reigen a generous week off of work as well as a paycheck in advance.

Reigen took the offer and spent the first day packing all of the stuff he had collected. His apartment was now full of huge plastic bags as well as cardboard boxes full of necessities like clothes, tools and food. Every single one of them for Mob. It reminded Reigen of when he had only moved to the apartment.

Reigen had actually gone shopping just the other day, buying some clothes from the flea market near his place. It had left a hole in his wallet but now he finally had all the clothes he needed. He was finally satisfied that he had everything Mob would need for this spring and summer.

Reigen packed a lunch for both him and the boy before taking off towards the forest. It was a very traditional packed lunch, just some white rice and a bunch of side dishes. Reigen wanted Mob to experience the classics as well. Not only instant food or treats.

The forest was still said to be haunted, so the people in Reigen's neighborhood had advised him not to go. They kept telling him that he would just get lost and attacked by some wild animal. That forced Reigen to plan his timing carefully. He left at a time when everyone of his neighbors would be either still sleeping or already at work. The sun was just up as Reigen opened his door and left, his phone's GPS being his only companion for the short walk to the edge of the forest.

Reigen fixed the large rucksack on his back. He had sadly only managed to take about half of the stuff with him today. More reason to visit the boy again.

As Reigen walked towards the forest, steps long and brisk, he had to just wonder how he will ever find Mob. He could only hope that the spirits would help him. Reigen could never find his way back to the cave on his own. It had been winter the last time he had visited as well.

There was no reason for worry though as Reigen soon found out. Mob was right by the edge of the forest when Reigen got to the place they had last parted ways.

There the boy was, sitting on a lone rock. A crow was sitting on his head, pecking something Mob was offering the bird.

"I didn't know I was being followed", Reigen smiled as the bird flew off into the woods. He could only guess that the bird was the god he had met that winter and had warned Mob beforehand that Reigen would be coming.

Mob offered a shy smile back to the man before eyeing the rucksack curiously. He had never seen a bag that big and could only wonder what it contained. He faintly remembered a promise of 'sweets' and other stuff he couldn't quite remember the names of. Could the bag be full of those sweets?

"I brought you something fun. Should we go to your place first so that I can show them?" Reigen asked as he climbed onto the rock Mob was standing on, "You could show me around the forest after that."

"Hm!" Mob nodded, rather animated for his usual character.

Again, as the two walked in the forest's vague forest paths, all kinds of creatures joined them. With the winter gone, a lot of new faces joined in as well from their hibernation or migration.

The Raccoon Dog showed up from behind a mossy rock, yapping to get Mob's attention. The thick winter coat had changed into a summer one already, looking shiny and soft. The animal looked fine all in all.

"Ah, hello", Reigen quickly bowed, remembering that the animal was a god. He could never get used to all these big characters walking around him like this.

Then there was another raccoon dog, and another and yet another. Soon there were thirteen heads poking from behind the rock, yapping and whining loudly.

"Congratulations", Mob pet the other bigger raccoon who must've been the new mother.

The little puppies tried to climb Reigen's pant legs while Mob pet and snuggled the parents.

"They really like you", Kinoko smiled from Mob's shoulder, "Hana gave birth to a lot of little babies this spring."

"Hana?" Reigen asked as he picked one especially brave and rowdy little one by the neck before it could chew a hole into the pants.

"Mob likes to give names to everyone around here. It makes telling us all apart much easier, I have to admit", Kinoko shrugged.

Reigen nodded. It really must have. He couldn't imagine how many names Mob had had to come up with though. It must've been quite a task. These little guys would need to be names as well if following Mob's standards.

"Dimple isn't home today. He had some business with the mountain god not too far away from here", Kinoko explained in Mob's place as the group entered the cave.

"Is he often away for long?" Reigen had to ask. He was worried about the boy. What if someone decided to attack or something else was to happen to Mob? Who would help then?

Mob shook his head, checking to see if they had any water left. Good thing they had. Mob got right to making some tea for their guest.

"He always makes sure to come back", Kinoko agreed, "It's been like that ever since Mob joined us."

Reigen let out a sigh of relief. Guess that Dimple wasn't such an evil spirit after all. Reigen had to give the spirit some credit, although he still didn't feel that close with the green blob.

"Does he always dress like that when he goes to meet people?" Reigen had to ask. Seeing the spirit in a human form, dressed in a formal black suit wasn't something he could've expected even in his wildest dreams.

"Ah, the suit? We try to follow the fashion the best we can", Kinoko smiled, "You liked it?"

"Color", Mob said.

"Yes, the last time we went to town was years ago. We had on the latest fashion", Kinoko nodded proudly, handing Reigen an old, water-damaged magazine. It read 'The Fashion of 1980! The best outfits!'.

Reigen wished he could've unseen what he just saw in his mind.

"What did you bring?" Kinoko finally asked as Reigen and Mob had sat down with their cups of tea. This time it was spiced with the spring's first plants and flowers with a sprinkle of honey.

"Food and clothes mostly. I figured that Mob might need those", Reigen explained, trying his best not to burn his tongue as he took a careful sip out of his tea.

"Sweets?" Mob mumbled, nose deep in his cup.

"Of course. I brought you a lot of sweets. We can taste those in a bit."

Mob only nodded. He could hardly wait but masked his excitement very well.

Reigen wanted the boy to test out the clothes first. He had noticed that the jacket he had given Mob the last time was by the bed, looking very well-worn. It made Reigen happy. Mob had clearly used the jacket a lot during the cold and long winter.

Reigen felt bad for not having mittens and a hat to give that time. Good winter boots would've also been very useful. Mob's head and hands must've been freezing back then. Reigen couldn't even imagine how he'd manage such a thing.

"I have some clothes with me. Would you like to try them on for me?" Reigen asked as he quickly dug around the rucksack for the first piece of clothing. Out came a simple white T-shirt and some tracksuit pants, red in color.

Reigen handed the clothes to Mob and went in to look for the next item, leaving the boy to twist and turn the pants and shirt in his hands. The raven head had no idea what to do with them.

"Pull this over your head. Now you're stuck. Let me pull a bit. Just like that", good thing that Kinoko noticed and took over, saving Reigen the effort, "These go to the bottom. There! All done."

The shirt was put on backwards but other than that, the outfit looked great. They clothes were a tad bit too big but that didn't matter. All that mattered was the look on Mob's face.

Mob would first point to the red pants, then to the shirt, letting out short breaths of excitement. There was a small smile on his face as well but the eyes were telling it all. They were absolutely shining with happiness.

"You like them? Should we put a hoodie on top? The T-shirt alone might be a little too thin", Reigen smiled wide and gave Mob the other part of the old tracksuit, a red hoodie. He wanted Mob to put the clothes on himself. First of all, Reigen wouldn't dress little boys. The thought of it was just too wrong even if it was Mob. Second, Mob needed to learn that the clothes were now his, that he could wear them however he liked and do whatever he liked with them.

Mob did a little twirl, showing off his new outfit to the spirits that had gathered around them. The little spirits had demanded he do so and were now all clapping their hands, telling Mob how good he looked.

"It must be so soft and warm", one spirit touched the material, nodding as it was so.

Another one had crawled inside the hood and was poking its head out, "Really soft."

Reigen smiled as he watched the friends play and have fun with the clothes. How could such a small gesture result in so much happiness? Reigen wished he knew others so grateful for the small things in life.

Reigen had already emptied the whole rucksack as Mob and the spirits were done admiring the tracksuit.

There was a pair of sneakers, grey sweatpants, three sweaters as well and some socks and even underwear.

Reigen nodded. These would do for the spring.

"I almost forgot!" Reigen clapped his hands and dug yet something else out of the bag, "It's going to rain a lot so you'll be needing these."

Reigen pulled out a green raincoat, rain boots and a frog themed umbrella.

Reigen opened up the last item and offered it to Mob, showing him how to hold it over his head.

"For rain", Reigen explained as he mimicked rain and hiding under an umbrella, "Rain."

Mob's face lit up and he ran to his bed. He soon ran back with a huge leaf in hand, giving that one to Reigen to use.

"Oh", Reigen smiled, "You had one already. Now we both have one."

The leaf wasn't nearly big enough to help in case of rain. Reigen didn't thing that it would be enough for Mob either even though the boy was smaller than him. Good thing that he had brought the umbrella after all. He had almost decided not to.

Mob nodded as he finally managed to close the umbrella after two or three minutes of trying. He looked rather triumphant as he showed the closed umbrella to Reigen.

"Yeah. You can put it like that too. Do you want to put on the boots and raincoat as well?"

The cave had turned into a runway.

Many more spirits had joined the two, wanting to see their friend with his new clothes as well as Reigen, the strange man visiting their forest. They were squealing and clapping their hands as Mob modestly showed off his new clothes.

Reigen did mock announcing, telling the spirits the names and uses of the pieces.

"And then to our final piece! This is a real killer!" Reigen waved his hands around, "Fit for even the rainiest of seasons. Fashionable and practical! What else could anyone ask for?"

Mob walked around in his boots and raincoat, opening up the umbrella as well. He took a moment to stare at the frog eyes, the smile and the pink cheeks on the top. His eyes were sparkling.

Reigen wished he had taken a camera. It was so precious. He would definitely have to spend the next Christmas with the boy and see him open the presents.

"Alright then!" Reigen clapped his hands together, ending the show, "Now who wants something to eat?"


	6. Chapter 6: Snack Time

It was hard to decide what they should start with.

Maybe Reigen really shouldn't have brought so many with him after all. The shopkeeper had given him a look when he had come to the register with two baskets full of snacks. Reigen had pretty much picked out each and every brand they had in the small corner store. He had gotten maybe a bit too excited. His wallet felt it too.

Mob had absolutely no idea what all of the snacks and sweets were and Reigen couldn't decide which would suit the boy's taste the best. Neither knew what Mob liked and what he didn't. It was an impossible task.

In the end, Reigen lined up all of the boxes and bags, letting Mob decide himself. Reigen had already learned that Mob didn't know how to read but he really liked the bright colors and pictures. Reigen hoped that the raven head would choose the package most interesting to him and maybe even like the contents of it. There were certain things you couldn't go wrong with, like chocolate.

"That one? Should we try that one first?" Reigen took the box Mob handed to him. It was a chocolate and cookie snack, shaped like various animals.

The box was a very colorful one, with all the cartoon animals. Maybe the familiar shapes pulled Mob to choose that one. Although none of the animals there were ones that would live in the forest, the twisted cartoon versions must've been enough for Mob. Well, if you really tried, the koala might've looked like a raccoon dog.

Reigen carefully peeled the box open and swiped the silver plastic bag open as well before offering the whole thing back to Mob who carefully took it.

Mob stared at the opening on the package, clearly confused as to how it had suddenly just opened. Mob shrugged, thinking that it was a similar species to nuts that protected the edible part with a hard shell. He then popped one cookie into his mouth, chewing slowly.

"You like it?" Reigen tried to analyze the expression the best he could. No, it was all blank. Mob really could be like a statue at times. It was impossible to read the boy when he was like that.

Reigen couldn't imagine how the spirits managed. Maybe their senses were much more developed than a human's. Maybe they could smell the emotions. The books always said that animals could smell fear.

Mob nodded furiously, taking another cookie and offering it to the spirits that had crowded around his legs. And after the spirits had scattered to inspect and eat the treat, Mob offered the box to Reigen, shaking it a bit to get Reigen to take it.

"What is it? You want me to take it back?"

"Hm", Mob nodded, watching Reigen take a couple pieces to himself before offering the box back to Mob again. Mob seemed happy with the interaction and took yet another treat.

"You don't have to share with me. I bought those all for you", Reigen sighed. The boy was really just too kind and polite.

The group opened only one other snack, deciding to save the rest for another day.

It was a bag of candy this time. Fruit flavored and very colorful.

Mob was weirded out by the gummy texture of the candy, doubting if to take another bite.

Reigen smiled at the confusion. Guess there weren't any things in the wild with the same texture as fruit gummies. Reigen couldn't seriously think of one. Very fatty raw meat might've come close, but the artificial candy was really in a league of its own.

Reigen was telling Mob what the different colors were supposed to taste like, looking at the funny responses when Mob knew the fruit or berry.

"And that is wild strawberry", Reigen told Mob, showing a picture of the berry. Mob didn't know the word for the berry but he did recognize the drawn image.

Mob shook his head, brows furrowed. No, this thing tasted nothing like strawberry.

Reigen took the red piece of candy Mob had offered him. The boy wanted Reigen to have a taste and agree that it just couldn't be right.

"Yeah", Reigen nodded, "It tasted nothing like one, huh?"

Mob nodded. It was all wrong.

Reigen laughed. Mob would be a great food critic.

Mob huffed at Reigen's reaction. He had been serious and now the man was laughing at him.

Dimple came back home later that afternoon, making himself known as he shook the whole ground while landing. The long and heavy body scraping along the rocks and moss on the ground.

Some of the smallest spirits in the cave screamed and hid or even left the cave altogether. They weren't really welcome in the cave but had mustered the courage when the ruler of the forest wasn't there. Now that he was back, they had no reason to stay any longer. An evil spirit was still an evil spirit after all. Dimple could eat them if he was mad enough. He sometimes was if the meeting hadn't gone well.

"Here again? Didn't I tell you to never come back?" Dimple quietly growled as he came in, lowering his nose and head down for Mob to snuggle. The whiskers tickling the boy now hanging on top of Dimple's snout.

"Guess I'm one of those stubborn humans then", Reigen grinned, not wavering in front of the mighty beast. Dimple could've snapped his head right off and eaten him in seconds but Reigen was certain that he was safe. Dimple would never eat one of Mob's friends.

"Or stupid", Dimple huffed, noticing the treats and clothes in the cave floor, "You're going to poison my son then, stupid man?"

The two adults glared at each other, fire and sparks in the air around them.

Mob and the spirits just ate their candy. Mob had switched back to the chocolates, disappointed with the fake flavors of the fruit gummies. He decided that the spirits could have all of them. He'd even give Dimple some if the spirit would want any.

Dimple settled down, not wanting to argue with a puny human any more than necessary. He also thought that he would be upsetting Mob if he would've, so he decided to stop and curl next to the boy.

"What are you wearing, Shigeo?" Dimple asked Mob as the unknown material rubbed against the furry and scaled skin of the spirt. The skin was surprisingly sensitive.

"Clothes", Mob mumbled as he offered Dimple a taste of the food. The large spirit only took the candy since his protégé offered them. Not because Reigen had bought them or because they were good or anything.

"Well duh", Dimple sighed, "Where did you get those?"

Dimple already knew the answer and eyed the human now sitting on a pile of moss.

The candy hadn't been much and he had hardly gotten a taste before the treat was gone. It had been way too sweet for the spirit, but he didn't dare to tell it in case it would upset Mob.

Reigen raised his hands up onto his head in surrender, "Mob said he wanted sweets. I only did as I was told."

Dimple sighed. Those things couldn't be good for the boy. They were way too sweet.

Well, at least the clothes were warm. Those they could use.

"Reigen", Mob answered the spirits question.

Reigen smiled. It was the first time the raven head had actually said his name. Reigen felt a swell inside his chest. It was unknown whether it was pride or something more parental.

"I should've guessed", Dimple growled, "I hope you don't plan to move in seeing how much stuff you brought in with you."

"No, no. I'm not!" Reigen waved his hands.

Mob looked rather saddened by the man's words. He eyed Reigen as if to ask him why.

"Good. I wouldn't let you in anyways", Dimple nodded, settling back down with Mob.

Good thing that Reigen had noticed Mob's discomfort.

Reigen wasn't only a good speaker. He was also a good listener.

"My neighbors and the guys I work with would report to the police that I'm missing", Reigen explained, "And then that would mean a lot of trouble for all of us. They would come looking for me."

Mob tilted his head. He didn't know what police did.

"They would come here", Dimple repeated, "That is not good."

Mob understood that much and nodded to tell that, "Not missing."

"I know, but that is what the others would think", Reigen smiled sadly.

It would be no use to try and explain his neighbors that he was going camping in the woods for a week. No one would believe him. Reigen didn't even know how to light a fire without a lighter much less search for food. He also just couldn't go and leave his job. He couldn't do without the money.

"I know! How about you come with me to my place?" Reigen finally decided, slamming his hands together. It was as if a lightbulb had turned on on top of his head.

"No way", Dimple said right away, wrapping more tightly around Mob.

"I think that it sounds good", Kinoko butted in from where the spirit was enjoying the candy with the others, "You always whine about not having any days off."

Reigen grinned, "Oh? Then wouldn't this be the best thing ever to happen to you? I could take Mob with me for a couple of days and you could have your beauty sleep. You need it. You have something red under your eyes."

Dimple breathed out through his nose, sending some of the clothes and candy tumbling.

*You can't say anything back, can you? It's a checkmate", Reigen thought to himself.

The proud spirit glared at Reigen once before closing his fiery eyes, "Fine then, but you better bring him back. Don't spoil him either."

"The latter I can't promise", Reigen winked as he begun planning what they would do during these couple of days he still had off from work.


	7. Chapter 7: Going on an Adventure

It's Mob first adventure into the human world in hundreds of years. Needless to say, the boy was both excited and nervous as he and Reigen walked through the forest and back to the city. He'd keep glancing back where the cave was as well as to Reigen for support, both moral and physical.

"You'll be alright", Reigen sighed when he eyed Mob squeezing his hands together for the millionth time. The walk had taken only half an hour and would take at least another one still. And if Mob wasn't going to calm down soon, Reigen would need to take drastic measures or they'd never make it to his place. They hadn't even seen any asphalt yet and Mob was shaking like a tiny puppy.

Mob nodded, the shaking calming down somewhat. The twisting of the hands was still there though.

It was only fair that the boy was nervous. He hadn't had the best experiences with humans throughout the years. The first time he had been abandoned in the forest and the latest encounter had almost ended with a bullet in the back of the head.

The forest was green. That the only word Reigen could describe it with as he took his time to watch the waking spring forest. They had nothing like this in the city. The parks seemed like bushes compared to this.

It was unclear if it was the presence of a ton of spirits or something totally else, but the forest was thriving.

Teeny tiny buds of leaves had only begun to appear on the trees in the city but almost all of the trees in the forest had their leaves already. The color was also much more vivid and bright, almost shining.

The oxygen-rich air was thick with the smell of wet moss and dirt. Reigen always felt much more awake but also calm when in the forest. All of his stress and fatigue would just melt away.

Reigen had noticed it in the winter already. When you visited the forest, it was like you were in another world. There was no sign of human life anywhere. Nature ruled it all. Only small trails made by animals were visible in the lush undergrowth of the place.

"What's with this pond?" Reigen asked as the two had taken a small detour. Reigen had wanted Mob to show him around the forest. He hoped to learn how the boy had managed to stay alive all these years. Berries and mushrooms couldn't be the only things to thank, although there were plenty of those in the forest. No, there had to be something else as well.

"Princess lives in there", Mob told Reigen as he hopped onto the edge of the pond, sticking his hand right in. The water was still cold from the ice of the winter but Mob didn't seem to care. He didn't even flinch.

Reigen carefully crouched down to see what Mob saw. He was cautious of some large beast suddenly jumping up, attacking him. He had seen wolves the last time. He wouldn't take the risk with this one.

"A fish?" Reigen let out a breath, "It's just a fish."

A lone Koi fish swam around the pond, greeting the newcomers. The large fish's body was sleek, the scales colored in a mossy green color instead of the usual three colors, white, orange and black. To be honest, Reigen thought that the fish looked rather dull.

The whiskered mouth breached the surface. The fish opened and closed its mouth a couple of times before diving back again, splashing water right at Reigen. But Reigen had fast reflexes, and dodged the splash before it could get his clothes wet. Ninja Reigen struck again.

Nor Kinoko or Dimple was with them now, so if Reigen would want to ask Mob what the deal with the fish was, he'd need to do with Mob's limited vocabulary and erratic hand movements.

Both of the spirits had insisted on coming with them, but Mob had told them not to. He would have to do this by himself. He wanted to do this by himself. He might've also wanted to get away from the guarding gaze of Dimple every once in a while. Reigen guessed that it was a rebellious phase coming up.

Reigen could guess the story behind the fish though. He had a good imagination and was actually a very god storyteller.

The fish had a good camouflage, unlike the Koi you might see at parks and shrines. The color must've protected the fish when every other one around it disappeared, caught and eaten by some predator. And now the fish was all alone in the small pond, waiting for its friends to one day return.

Reigen thought of fish as not the smartest animals there were, so he thought that the fish seriously had no idea that its friends wouldn't come back.

As if to validate Reigen's theory, Mob carefully pet the fish under its belly, mumbling, "Lonely."

"She's lonely?" Reigen asked, offering the fish an old cookie he had found in his jacket pocket. The fish was sure to be a god by now. An offering would be appreciated.

The two kept the fish company for some time more, until Reigen's feet got numb. Mob had to actually help him up.

"I look like an old man", Reigen laughed, "Just so you know, I'm not that old. Don't get any ideas."

Mob didn't get the point and only shook his head, telling Reigen he wouldn't do whatever he didn't want him to do. Mob hated to disappoint and was brought up to obey rules.

The concept of age was odd to Mob. Reigen would need to come up with better jokes if he wanted Mob to be amused even the slightest.

Reigen made sure to cross that topic over on his mental list of jokes to tell Mob in hopes of making the boy laugh. Yes, he actually had a list.

The edge of the forest soon came to view and Mob's anxiousness got worse by the step. He even took Reigen's hand at some point, which surprised Reigen. Positively surprised. He had waited for this moment. Mob was making human contact on his own accord. Reigen didn't want to rush things and spook the boy so he simply hung his hand slack as Mob weakly squeezed it, clinging to it.

"Come on. It's only one little step. You can do it", Reigen was now trying to get Mob to actually leave the forest and take the final step over to the road. It seemed almost impossible for the boy, whose legs actually visibly shook a bit. They must've felt like jelly.

Mob finally stilled completely, raising his head to look Reigen right in the eyes before taking the step. It was as if he wanted Reigen to see how brave he was to move.

Mob then looked around, letting out a breath he, as well as Reigen, had been holding.

"See? It wasn't that bad", Reigen smiled as he watched Mob feel the rocky road under his feet. It must've been a strange sensation after years of forest floor.

Reigen would let the boy take all the time he'd need. They had the whole day to themselves. Absolutely no need to hurry.

Mob actually sat down for about ten minutes, just watching around taking in all the street signs and other human landmarks around them. There were very few in comparison to when you actually got to the city but it was a lot for a first-timer. The bright colors seemed to draw Mob in as a red Stop sign seemed to be his favorite.

Mob finally decided that he was ready and stood up, taking Reigen's hand once again.

"Should we get going? Are you sure?" Reigen asked the boy to make sure that they were moving on Mob's terms.

Mob nodded, fixing his eyes onto the road in front of them. He wanted to see more. A lot more.

The walk took longer than usual now that Mob was there. He'd stop to stare at things all the time, pointing at them to hear Reigen tell him what they were for.

Not that Reigen disliked it. It was to be expected that the boy would have questions. This must've been his first time seeing a modern house, much less a car or an airplane.

Speaking of airplanes, Mob almost jumped and ran all the way back to his cave when one flew over them. Reigen had to take a tight hold of the hood to stop the boy.

The trees of the forest must've worked as a great wall in between the sky and the forest floor. It also blocked the sound really well. Reigen had seen one fly past but not heard a single plane when he had been in the forest

"Yeah, I know. It needs some time to get used to", Reigen nodded as Mob stared at the cloud-like trail the plane had left behind. They'd take a couple minutes to calm down.

Mob agreed with a nod, mind not comprehending how there could be people in that loud thing. Reigen had shortly explained to him how an airplane worked and what it was used to. Very shortly. Mob would never understand the aerodynamic things and lift. Reigen had a hard time understanding those too and he had even been in one.

"Oh, Mister Arataka! Aren't you working today?" as the two got closer and closer to Reigen's apartment, they came across a group of the man's neighbors.

"I'm on a small vacation. My boss told me to come back when I can sit still again", Reigen nervously laughed, "Guess I've been a bit out of it lately."

"Oh definitely! You're always doing something nowadays!" a woman agreed, "Your boss is so nice."

Mob had hid behind his back right away and was eyeing the old ladies doubtfully. He didn't know what to make of their colorful clothes and squeaky voices. They were like birds.

"And who might this little cutie be? A cousin?" a woman asked Reigen as she caught a glimpse of Mob before the boy ducked back behind Reigen.

"Y-Yeah! A cousin! My mother told me to look after him for some time", Reigen would have to go with that explanation for now. If someone was to ask, Mob was his cousin from now on.

"He is a bit shy", Reigen added, "He came a long way all by himself. He's quite tired."

"Oh my! Then we shouldn't keep you! Go put the little one to bed."

"Thank you", Reigen bowed, "I'll come talk to you later. Have a nice day."

"I hope the boy likes it here. Just keep him away from the forest."

'Oh, if they would only know', Reigen smiled to himself as he guided Mob up the steps to his apartment.

The silver key rattled in the keyhole. The old thing was getting rusty and very hard to open.

Reigen had developed a strange tactic throughout the years. First he rattled the key in the lock. If it wouldn't open that way, he'd lift it up a bit while turning the key in the lock and the knob all at the same time.

The door usually opened that way just like it did this time.

"Welcome in", Reigen told Mob as he ushered the boy in before another neighbor could spot them and start interrogating him about the sudden appearance of the mysterious boy.

Mob cautiously walked into the apartment, stopping in the hallway to look at the three pairs of shoes lying there on the carpeted floor. It was almost as if the boy was contemplating what would be the right thing to do before finally taking his own shoes off, placing them neatly next to Reigen's.

They were the shoes Reigen had given him earlier this day. Just some white sneakers but Mob seemed to have taken a serious liking to them. He clearly had his doubts about parting with them even if he was just to put them in the hallway.

Mob then took off his jacket, mimicking Reigen as the man hung his on a wall hook. Reigen had to finally help him when Mob couldn't quite reach.

"Great. Would you like something? Tea?" Reigen asked as he gestured Mob to come in and make himself right at home.


	8. Chapter 8: Milk & Ramen

"Here you go. I know I said tea but I decided to do hot chocolate instead", Reigen told Mob as he, too, sat down on the sofa Mob was currently on. He had used the microwave, a poor man's best friend. Boiling milk on the stove would've been like playing with fire. Reigen hardly had the pots and pans to sacrifice either.

The boy was really enjoying every moment ever since walking in to the house through the door. The sofa seemed like the best thing that had ever happened to him in years if the expression on Mob's face was anything to go by. His eyes were sparkling as he tested the softness of the sofa cushions and ran his hand over the fabric.

Reigen had decided, Mob would sleep on the bed, he could sleep on the sofa and suffer with a sore neck. Reigen wanted to see Mob's face when introduced to a luxurious, king size bed.

Reigen tried his best to save every penny he could, but when it came to sleeping and the bed itself, Reigen would go all out. A good night's sleep was all you needed to make your day better.

Mob stared at the mug he was given. The brown liquid seemed to cause doubt in the boy's mind. Maybe it reminded him of dirty water? Muddy water was brown, after all, and you wouldn't want to drink that.

"It's good. See?" Reigen took a huge sip out of his mug.

Too bad that the thing was still hot. Reigen burned his tongue and threw the mug with so much force that it almost strained his shoulder. Mob caught the mug before it could hit the wall or the TV and leave a permanent mark, giving it back right to Reigen's hand afterwards.

"Thanks", Reigen mumbled. He hadn't seen Mob use his powers to such extent before. A floating mug was something he hadn't been expecting.

"Hm", Mob nodded as he made sure to blow on his hot chocolate to cool it down before taking a tentative sip.

After a moment of thinking later, Mob took another sip. It was more eager this time. Guess that the drink pleased Mob's taste buds.

"It has chocolate and milk in it", Reigen explained as he went to fetch the ingredients to show Mob. He should get the boy used to everything around him. They could start with this.

"Milk?" Mob tilted his head and took the carton to his hands. The cartoon cow smiled to him as Mob got more and more confused. He had never seen such an animal and Reigen had told him that 'a cow' was indeed an animal and apparently a very common one at that. Mob let the subject drop, thinking that this wasn't something he'd need to know just now.

Reigen poured Mob a cup of the thing and gave it to Mob's other, free hand, taking the milk carton and putting it back to the fridge. He nodded for Mob to have a taste.

Mob tasted this one too. It looked rather hilarious. Mob had a cup in both his hands and he took turns in tasting them. He couldn't decide which one to drink from since they both tasted really good. Mob just might've liked the milk a bit more though. He might have another cup of that.

"Hmm", Reigen had left Mob to sit on the sofa as he went to check what they'd have for lunch today.

The man had turned the TV on, putting it on a channel playing some kids' show with bright characters and upbeat music. Mob was glued to the screen, trying to figure out how the thing worked. It reminded Reigen of some animal, like a cat or a dog, as he watched the boy dodge or follow the objects on the screen. Mob even circled behind the TV to see where the character had gone when it disappeared from the screen. It reminded Reigen of a video he saw the other day of a dog being show a video of puppies on a laptop. The reaction had been exactly the same.

Reigen finally sighed. There was absolutely no edible food in the fridge save for a half dried up carrot and one single potato. It was a good thing that Reigen had remembered to check the milk before serving it to his guest. It might've been spoiled.

"Mob, get up. We need to go eat out", Reigen slammed the fridge door shut and went to fetch his wallet. He checked the contents to see what they could eat.

The blond was behind in paying his bills as well as the rent of the apartment. He was surprised that the landlord still hadn't knocked on his door demanding the money. The man had almost broken in just last month when Reigen had missed the day he was supposed to pay the rent.

The wallet was full. Full of dust alongside a couple measly, wrinkly bills and coins tucked away and forgotten in the dark corners of the leather pouch.

Reigen could feel a headache coming already. He had indeed worked extra hours for months but almost all the money was gone. Used to buy Mob all sorts of things.

Good thing that Reigen remembered that he had put the money reserved for Mob in a jar on one of the kitchen shelfs. It wasn't much anymore but it would feed them for two or three days as well as pay for their other expenses. They couldn't go for the best though. Mediocre would have to do now. Reigen bet that Mob couldn't tell the difference or care.

It was a good thing that most of the people were still at work during this time of the day.

Mob would freeze each time a person was even in sight, preferring to hold tight onto Reigen's arm or even hide under the man's jacket hem.

The boy couldn't help his childlike curiosity though and he would at times run to a shop's window or to something else he found absolutely captivating. He was now watching a traffic light turn from red to green and back to red. He would then look at the people walking whilst one light was on and stay still while another one was on.

Mob would also flinch each time a car would pass them. They were like the scariest monsters to him who had only known the forest for as long as he had known at all. A metallic creature rolling on four big wheels wasn't something Mob had come across before. Cars had hardly been invented the last time he had exited the forest for a second or two before running right back.

Reigen tried his best to explain everything to Mob but it was getting hard. It was almost impossible to explain something when the opponent hardly knew any of the words you were explaining the original word with. It was the hardest and possibly also the longest game of Alias ever.

It was a good thing that the duo was at their destination already. Reigen was running out of words and gestures to use. Mob had asked him what a bicycle was when he had seen one parked by the road.

The Ramen shop's colorful sign stared them right in the face with the curly letters and lit up letters. Mob stared at the colorful letters trying to make out what they could possibly mean. He still didn't know how to read so as much as Mob tried, the effort was futile.

"This is the place", Reigen nodded as he moved the curtains, the door, aside to let Mob step into the small shop first. He watched Mob pry his eyes off of the sign and step in, stopping to see that Reigen was following him.

"Reigen! Long time no see!" the shop's owner shouted from behind the counter as he saw the two enter, "How long has it been? Three weeks?"

"Three and a half", Reigen corrected the old man as he helped Mob peel off his jacket at the same time.

Mob was about to take off his shoes as well, but stopped when Reigen told him that he didn't need to take those off here. Mob tilted his head. Last time they had been inside Mob had taken his shoes off and it had been the right thing to do. Why was it wrong now? Mob didn't get it at all.

"Who is your little friend?" the owner asked as he finally focused on the little raven head, "It's rare for you to bring anyone with you. You better be treating him."

"I am! Sheesh", Reigen huffed, "This is my cousin."

Reigen couldn't remember if he had called Mob his cousin or his cousin's son the last time someone had asked. He hoped that no one would notice the vagueness of the story or he'd have to call someone and make them pretend to be Mob's relative so that they could tell them not to worry. Reigen didn't want to be accused of abducting and/or harassing a child.

"Well, nice to meet ya, boy!" the man laughed, pointing Mob to a seat he could sit in, "What can I get you?"

Mob was handed a small menu. Good thing that it had a picture of every meal or Mob would've been in trouble once again.

"Mo-Mob hasn't eaten ramen before", Reigen explained, scratching his head, "His parents are kinda strict about trash food and such."

"Ramen isn't trash food! It is a symbol of Japanese culture!" Reigen was sure he'd get a reaction like this. Ramen was this man's passion. His art.

Mob and Reigen were told to sit down and wait. The man would bring them the best ramen they had ever eaten. If not, Reigen wouldn't need to pay.

Mob glanced around the closed space that was the ramen shop. It was very small. Big enough to fit only three tables, the counter and the kitchen. But Mob liked it, small spaces were much easier to handle. The interior design was also mainly wooden, giving Mob a strong sense of home.

Reigen kept glancing towards Mob every other minute to make sure that the boy wasn't overwhelmed while also checking on the owner intensely cooking their ramen.

"Here you go boys! The best ramen in the city!" the owner sang as he placed two steaming bowls in front of the duo.

One bowl was almost bigger than Mob's head. Make it two and the boy was behind a wall.

Mob peeked over his bowl at Reigen, who was sitting on the other side of the table. He watched what move Reigen would make and was ready to mimic them. He was trying his best not to drool. The ramen looked and smelled absolutely delicious. Mob was ready to dig in.

"Could the boy get a fork or something? He isn't that good with chopsticks", Reigen asked the owner as he ripped his disposable wood chopsticks out of their paper and apart.

"Sure thing. Coming right up", the man smiled. He would often get customers like this. Chopsticks just weren't made for everyone and he could understand. He himself even preferred to use a fork and a spoon when eating his ramen. Other cooks looked at him funny when he did, but it was his own style and he wouldn't give it up.

Mob soon got the two items and they were finally ready to get to eating.

Both their stomachs were rumbling loudly by now and they were more than eager to destroy the bowls of food in front of them.

The ramen looked absolutely delicious and the smell was divine.

"Let's eat!" Reigen clapped his hands together and readied his chopsticks. He stuck them into the soft-boiled egg first, letting the yolk ooze out into the broth.

Mob mimicked the man, gently poking at his egg before sticking it into his mouth, full. It was a lot hotter than Mob had expected and Reigen had to give the boy his class of milk to cool down with.

"Be a bit more careful, okay. It's really hot", Reigen smiled as he blew onto his bowl. He slipped a couple slices of meat onto Mob's bowl as well. The boy needed all the protein he could get. Meat was also something the boy must've liked. It was filling and tasty but sadly quite a rare treat back in the forest.

Mob nodded, blowing onto the piece of meat in his fork before sticking it to his mouth and chewing carefully. A blush crept to his face and Mob dove in for another piece.

Reigen let out a small laugh. It was a good thing they came. Mob really seemed to like the stuff. The owner seemed really pleased as well. When Reigen happened to see the man, he was smiling ear to ear, humming some song as well.

"We'll make it two in one tonight", the owner told Reigen as it was time to pay for their meal.

The owner had given Mob an ice cream the boy was now licking. It was vanilla flavored and Mob loved it. it soothed his slightly burned mouth as well.

"Really? You're not kidding me, right?" Reigen had to ask. The man liked to play pranks. He had switched the salt in the sprinkler with sugar the last time Reigen had visited.

"Of course! You never bring any visitors! Let's celebrate this special occasion!"

"You really are a weird little man", Reigen huffed as he dug out a couple bills from his leather wallet.

Mob kept staring at the exchange. He had often changed goods like dried berries or meat to other things but this trade he didn't understand. What would the man do with the paper? He couldn't eat it or wear it. Maybe he was going to burn it to make more ramen? Yes, that must be it. Mob nodded with a smile, pleased with his own skills of deduction.

Reigen would need to explain the concept of money to the boy at some point. Maybe they would first learn to read and count before even letting the boy touch any money.

"And you have a weird way of showing gratitude", the man smiled back.

Reigen shrugged and stood up, taking both his and Mob's jackets. He helped Mob put his on first before putting on his.

"Thank you. I'll come back soon", Reigen bowed as he went to exit the shop.

Mob didn't say a word but he bowed too, much deeper than Reigen.

The man smiled wide as he waved to the two, "You're welcome anytime! I'll make sure to have the best ingredients ready for you. Bring the boy with you!"


	9. Chapter 9: Feeling Unwell

"You're not going to eat? It's your favorite", Reigen asked his little protégé and friend as they both sat by the kitchen table for breakfast.

The boy had been quiet all morning and it was starting to make Reigen uneasy. Of course Mob was fairly quiet every day, but this morning had been quiet even for his standards.

Reigen had actually tried to make omelet rice today and somehow even managed. It was a bit charred but it hadn't stopped the boy from chomping the thing down last time either. This morning though, half an hour had already passed and Mob hadn't even touched his meal, just poked it around a bit to make it seem like he had.

Mob simply shook his head, turning a page in a book he was skimming through.

The boy had taken a liking to picture books and had even learned the meaning of a couple letters. He was currently going through an animal encyclopedia Reigen had borrowed for him when they had visited the public library yesterday.

Mob had been staying with Reigen for four days already. The two had done all kinds of things together during this short time.

At first Reigen had introduced the boy to ramen and all kinds of other foods. They had both had a huge stomach ache the next day. Mob had to be introduced to stomach medicine soon after.

They had departed late that afternoon and went to the zoo and aquarium nearby. Mob had absolutely loved the aquarium, watching the colorful fish swim by for a very long time.

The two had also visited the amusement park. They had rode both the train and the bus on the way there. Mob had been nervous the whole trip but he had slowly warmed up to the speedy rides and great amount of people. He had gotten a cotton candy as well, so it made everything all good.

Yesterday they had gone shopping. Mob still needed some clothes and such and Reigen wanted the boy to decide. He also wanted to get Mob toys and books. Mob was only a boy, after all. He had never had toys and even with his body being that of a 14-year-old's and his mind even older, a good plush or toy blocks would never get old.

The girls at Reigen's usual second hand store had all fallen in love with the boy. They had sat him down on a plush chair and showed off all kinds of toys. In the end, they left with a teddy plush, some building blocks and a puzzle. Mob didn't really know what toys were used to, so those were also a safe choice. It was also gentle for Reigen's wallet which was on a serious diet it seemed.

"Is everything alright? Is your stomach upset? I can get you some meds if you'd like. I could make tea as well. It might help" Reigen continued with the questions, even feeling Mob's forehead for a fever. There was none, but the boy almost seemed paler than usual. He had dark circles under his eyes as well.

"Fine", Mob mumbled again, staring at a picture of an elephant. He tried to figure out how such a thing could exist.

"If you say so, just tell me if you feel worse. What should we do today?" Reigen took the plate away, putting it in the fridge for if the boy wanted to eat it later. He was really worried. Mob had never said no to a meal. It was unheard of.

Mob shrugged. He didn't have an idea for today. It was useless for Reigen to ask. The boy didn't know the possibilities.

Reigen shrugged as well and went to sit on the sofa, turning on the TV. Guess this day will be a lazy one. They might as well stay home if Mob wasn't feeling well.

To be honest, Reigen was getting quite tired as well. The constant running around and doing something new every day didn't quite fit his lazy lifestyle.

Mob stood up and joined the man watching the morning news. He sat on the sofa and leaned his body to Reigen's, closing his eyes. Mob let out a sigh and settled.

The duo didn't move from the sofa the whole morning. They just lazily watched whatever was on and rested. Even a commercial about vacuums would do when there was seriously nothing else good on the TV that early in the morning.

Mob had fallen asleep where he was resting his head on Reigen's shoulder. A small snoring sound came from the boy with the occasional mumble or snort. Mob didn't move when he slept. He was dead still.

Reigen let himself close his eyes as well. A small nap wouldn't hurt anyone. He'd set an alarm or something.

The sound of the TV was a calming noise in the background as the two occupants of the apartment slept on the sofa. It was surprising that Mob didn't wake up to the man's loud snoring. It almost shook the whole room.

Reigen woke up groggy, scratching his head. He had no idea how he had ended up lying on the sofa but there he was. Last time he had been sitting up. Reigen checked his phone to see that they had slept around two hours instead of the couple minutes he had had in mind. Well, this was supposed to be a lazy day. This was a good way to begin.

Mob was lying on top of the man's legs, a string of drool wetting the pants. He was still sleeping peacefully, not even stirring as his makeshift mattress moved.

"Oi Mob, wake up. Time for dinner", Reigen carefully poked Mob's head, hoping to wake the boy up as gently as possible. He would order something in and he wanted to know what Mob wanted. Pizza sounded good.

But the poking was of no use, Mob didn't move.

"Faking it? Get your butt off the sofa", Reigen huffed as he rapidly poked the head again, "You must be hungry already. Get up and we'll eat something. I'll get you something you like."

But Mob didn't move. He didn't even seem to hear what Reigen had just said. Mentioning food usually got the kid to at least perk up.

Reigen was getting worried. The boy was usually easy to wake up.

Living in the forest, evading predators and other danger had made Mob a very light sleeper. A twig snapping outside would make him lift his head up from the pillow and see if there was any apparent danger.

Reigen had almost pissed himself one night when he had found Mob standing in the dark hallway. The boy had been listening to something in the darkness. Possibly a neighbor or someone walking by.

Reigen had told the boy to never do it again. No one could get into their apartment. There was no need for wandering around in the dark. Mob would only hurt himself by bumping into a dresser or something.

Mob had learned and there hadn't been such a meeting since.

Reigen finally decided to shove the boy, albeit gently. He ended up doing that twice and almost pushing the boy off the whole couch.

Still, the boy didn't wake up. He did mumble something under his breath though, giving Reigen some hope. At least the boy was alive and breathing. Other than that, he didn't move.

Reigen didn't know what he could possibly do in this situation. A hospital was out of question. There were no documents on the boy at all and bringing him into a hospital would only cause a fuss. The police would definitely get involved too. Reigen and Mob didn't need that.

Dimple. Dimple was the only one they could go to. The spirit was bound to know something. And if not him, then the many other spirits living in the forest. They had been with Mob the longest. They knew the boy much better than Reigen ever could.

Reigen ran to get packed for the journey. He'd need to carry the boy and although the boy wasn't heavy, he was dead weight. Reigen wasn't an athlete either. He had never been.

The man ran around the apartment, throwing a blanket on Mob to at least keep him warm. The backpack was soon ready and Reigen looking for something he could secure the boy onto his back with.

The people would definitely stare, but Reigen couldn't care less this time. Mob's life could be in danger. There was no point in worrying about appearances now. Getting Mob back to Dimple was the main goal here.

Reigen carefully lifted Mob onto his back, tying a couple belts onto his midsection to keep the boy from falling. At times like this, the man wished that he had two pairs of arms instead of one. He was struggling and Mob was sliding down with each move he made. The boy's neck would definitely be sore when he finally woke up.

Reigen put his backpack on the front, giving Mob more room in the back. They looked massive, like a tank. Moving like that must feel like one too, slow, heavy and clumsy.

Reigen didn't have the hands or the time to tie his shoelaces properly. He only threw on his jacket, kicking the door open and running down the stairs and outside the apartment complex.

Reigen nodded to his landlord when they met in the stairs. The look the man had given him was really something else. Reigen would definitely have to explain this later, in great detail.

Reigen pulled out a GPS he had prepared this time. He wasn't going to get lost with cargo this valuable to carry.

It still took Reigen almost an hour to only walk to the edge of the forest.

He was sweating and panting by the time he sat down to take a small break, placing Mob down on a soft mattress of moss. He took a large sip out of his bottle and wiped his forehead.

The boy still hadn't stirred. He quietly slept on even as he was moved around.

Reigen had once even dropped the boy, managing to prevent a hit to the head with inches to spare. A by-passer had given them a dirty look before continuing with their way. Reigen had only managed a shy smirk back before pulling Mob up and hurrying off himself.

"Reigen?! What are you doing here?" it was Kinoko.

Like a blessing she had come. The little spirit could guide them right to Dimple.

The spirit then noticed Mob and the state he was in. If the spirit would've had any eyes, they would've been filled with dread or glaring at Reigen in question. They had entrusted Mob to the man. How could the situation end up like this? It hadn't even been a whole week.

"What did you do?" was the only thing the spirit asked, pressing a hand to the boy's cheek. Something similar to motherly worry could be seen in the spirits form. It shook and the movements were stiff and forced. It was clear that the spirit would've just wanted to hug the boy and make it all better if she could.

"I did nothing! Absolutely nothing! Mob was feeling unwell this morning and then he just shut down!" Reigen explained, waving hands in front of him. He was guarding himself from a spirit's fury. God knows what curses the little one could cast.

Kinoko gave the man one more doubting glare before turning her attention back to the boy. They shouldn't argue like this. Mob needed help.

"We need to get going", Reigen voiced what both of them had in mind, watching the spirit agree with a small nod.

Kinoko had magically called other spirits which were now helping Reigen carry the boy, still asleep and dead to the world. The spirits had stopped to inspect the damage to their friend, then, as Kinoko had done, stared at Reigen before finally helping.

The atmosphere of the whole forest had suddenly changed. It was almost as if the temperature had dropped a few degrees as well.

It was awkward for Reigen. He had done absolutely nothing to make the boy like this. He was innocent.

Or he would be, until proven otherwise. The spirits, and because of that the whole forest, were all clearly thinking that the man had done it. In a way or other, it was the man's fault.

And out of the frying pan, into the fire. The group came to Dimple's gave

Reigen didn't remember it being this big and ominous. The entrance of the cave was like a pitch black hole leading from the lush green forest right into the depths of hell.

Kinoko walked right in, waving Reigen to follow which the man did, slowly. He was carrying Mob all by himself again.

The smaller spirits had scrambled, fearing the powerful spirit of the forest. They all also knew that Dimple wasn't going to be pleased and would definitely unleash his anger on something nearby. They weren't going to risk being one of those objects.

The walk seemed longer than usual as well. Reigen's feet felt like jello by the time the group made it to the end of the cave. He was sweating and panting again as well.

Dimple was lying on a pile of leaves and moss, the bed Mob had made him. The green body rising and falling as the large beast breathed. The air ruffling the dried herbs hanging nearby.

He didn't seem surprised to see Reigen back so quick but what got him to stand up was the sight of his protégé limp on the man's back. The eyes dilated and the ears perked up, the whole body now clearly awake.

Dimple slid his long body off the bed and dragged it to the trio before they could take another step. The sound of the scales rubbing against the stone floor was the only sound in the whole cave. The long body rose high, looking intimidating. Dimple brought his nose close to Mob and let out a long breath of air, ruffling the boy's hair.

Reigen was still. It was like the most intense game of Statues ever. Reigen hoped that he wasn't losing this round. Dimple was quite good at this. He should become a pro.

The cave was just as it had been when the two had left.

It was apparent that the spirit's large form had knocked over a couple things. Some of the dry herbs hanging on the walls were now down on the ground and some of the bedding had been messed up.

Dimple stared at Reigen for a while before letting out a small growl and taking the boy from the man. Dimple carried the boy onto his bed, taking the small form carefully into his mouth.

Reigen had read from somewhere that Golden Retriever dogs could carry uncooked eggs in their mouths without breaking them. He couldn't help but think that the spirit looked just like one of those dogs right now. He was so careful with his mouthful of razor sharp teeth.

Not even the clothes on Mob were wrinkled as Dimple put the boy down and nudged some blankets on as well to keep his protégé safe and warm.

Guess the spirit could be gentle and caring when he wanted to. Judging by the way the spirit then turned to Reigen, the spirit had just run out of whatever that had been. Dimple's eyes were ice cold and like stone as he lowered his head to Reigen's level.

"What did you do?" Dimple asked, sounding almost bored. Like he had known this would happen.

"I did absolutely nothing! I swear! Why does everyone think that it's suddenly my fault?" Reigen tried to protect himself again and shook his head as he took a careful step back only to be met with Kinoko's calculating gaze.

Dimple huffed, "Of course you didn't."

He sounded very doubtful and it didn't help with Reigen's anxiety at all. The man was near pissing himself now, wishing that he could just turn around and run. He couldn't leave Mob though, so he decided to muster all the courage he could find.

"I didn't! That's the truth and nothing else!" Reigen crossed his hands over his chest.

The spirit was stubborn, refusing to belief the simple truth.

"I know you didn't", Dimple finally told Reigen, smiling a bit. The row of teeth glinting in the light of the cave as if ready to bite into the man in front of him.

He had really given the man a scare and enjoyed it quite a bit. Fear was the tastiest thing there was and the man was radiating it.

"See?!" Reigen turned to Kinoko.

The spirit only shrugged, finally letting the subject drop. If Dimple said it, then it must be the truth.

"It was party your fault though, so don't get all calm and such" Dimple wrinkled his nose.

Reigen and Kinoko both turned to face the spirit, hoping for answers. Kinoko wanted to know if she could punish the man or not and Reigen wanted to be right for once. How was Reigen innocent and guilty at the same time?

"Mob is a spirit. I have told you that much", Dimple began, carefully curling his long body around the boy's bed in a protective wall.

"I guess you have. Yes", Reigen nodded.

"And you've noticed how much energy is in this forest itself", Dimple continued.

Reigen nodded. The forest was pulsating with energy. It was apparent even to him, a normal person.

"Mob is a part of this forest as much as the other spirits are. He is alive because of the forest."

Reigen had his hand on his chin, clearly trying to make sense of what the spirit was going on about, "So you're telling me that Mob is like this because I took him out of the forest?"

"You're getting there, human", Dimple nodded, "You took Shigeo away from his life source. How do you think a boy can live for hundreds of years?"

Reigen nodded in understanding. So it was like taking oxygen from a flame. The flame would burn as long as there was still oxygen present in the space but as soon as the flame had burned out its life source the flame would flicker and die.

Reigen had taken Mob, a boy who was part spirit, away from a forest full of spiritual energy. He had taken Mob away from his life energy. As soon as the boy had used up all his energy, he simply stopped moving.

"But what can we do? Will Mob die?" Reigen had to ask.

Mob looked so lifeless just lying there. And although some color had already returned to the boy's face, he still was unsettlingly still. The slow breathing was the only sign of life still present in the body.

"Shigeo will not die. He isn't as weak as that", Dimple growled. He had lived with the boy for centuries. He was bound to get attached and couldn't tolerate anyone dissing his boy.

Reigen shook his head. No, he didn't mean it like that. Papa spirit could keep from biting Reigen's head off, thank you.

Dimple turned his head towards the boy and brought his nose close, the whiskers touching Mob's face. He was checking to see that the condition hadn't worsened. Yes, Mob was on the way to recovery.

"Shigeo will have to become a human", Dimple finally admitted, sounding almost disappointed. Maybe it was fatherly affection, maybe it was something else, but the spirit didn't seem that pleased with the outcome.

"Become a human? How is that possible?" Reigen had to ask. He couldn't see how that would be possible or even work.

"You'll see", Dimple told him, taking Shigeo into his mouth once more with the same care as seen before. The spirit then turned his body and began walking towards the cave's exit.

"Follow me", Dimple nodded.

Kinoko jumped onto Reigen's shoulder and the two followed the spirit out, only hoping that wherever they were going, Mob would get better.


	10. Chapter 10: To Become Human

Reigen would feel this day in his feet for days. If the way they were aching already was anything to go by, then they surely would.

The road wasn't the smoothest and the rocks and roots made the man almost fall more than once. Kinoko snickered every time he did from the shoulder she was sitting on. At least she weighted almost nothing.

Mob had stirred a bit, mumbled something and went back to sleep. Hanging on Dimple's mouth must've not been that comfortable, as much as the spirit tried to be as gentle as possible.

"It's not far now", Dimple told. He was using telepathy to communicate. Otherwise, he'd have to use his mouth which was out of question at the moment.

Reigen had jumped, spooked by the booming noise in his head. But when a chuckle followed Reigen's move, it was clear to him that the large spirit had spoken. No one else would be that gloat.

"Don't do that!" Reigen huffed as he dusted himself off. He had fallen on his behind, luckily landing on some soft moss.

"Sorry, sorry. Didn't know you were so delicate", Dimple smirked, albeit only a little, as much as his full mouth allowed. The spirit walked on, not even waiting for the man to recover.

"Humans are weak", Kinoko nodded from on the top of Reigen's left shoulder.

Reigen huffed in frustration. He really couldn't get along with these two.

The forest slowly turned much darker. The leaves on top of their head were now so dense that sunlight hardly peeked through. Moss as well as fallen twigs and leaves covered the forest floor. The air was much more humid despite it being a hot summer day.

It was like they had stepped into yet another world. Like the forest itself hadn't been enough for someone coming from a buzzling city. To be honest, Reigen would take this any day instead of the constant noise and pollution of the city. He should seriously move in.

It must've been something in the air that made everyone nervous. Kinoko seemed distressed as well, eyeing around her and inching closer and closer to Reigen's head as if to seek comfort.

Twigs broke under their feet as they walked. It was the only sound in the whole forest. No birds sang and not even a spirit came to greet them like they usually so often did. Mob usually pulled them out of their hideouts like a magnet.

Reigen couldn't really feel spiritual energy or such but he could definitely feel something. The hairs on his neck stood up and a shiver ran though his spine. Had he been alone and not on such an important mission, he would've definitely turned around and ran away.

Dimple finally came to a halt in front of a lake.

The lake wasn't much bigger than the one near Reigen's place. It seemed much more than the park's one though. It must've been in the air as well.

It was surrounded by trees leaning their branches down to touch the still surface.

The surface of the lake was crystal clear and no plant or creature seemed to live in it. Lone bubbles lazily rose to the surface, breaking the stillness.

It was so pure that if Reigen would've been told, he would've drank from it. He bet it would taste good too, like mineral water. The really expensive one.

Dimple circled the lake for some time before coming to a halt and lowering his body down onto the soft sand and rocks surrounding the beautiful body of water. Dimple then carefully brought his head down and put Mob down, right into the water.

Reigen flinched, afraid that the boy's head would go under and he would drown. Surely the spirits didn't come all the way here to kill the boy.

Dimple kept his nose under Mob's head, keeping it on top of the surface. The spirit's breath blew huge bubbles. It was almost like a miniature bubble bath just for the boy.

Reigen had to wonder if the water was cold. It surely looked like it, but it was summer and the air was warm. It wouldn't be logical at all, but then, what in this forest was. He was almost tempted to go and stick his hand in but he was afraid that he'd break the serene moment.

"This is a blessed lake", Kinoko breathed out. She must've just recognized the place. She seemed to be in a trace, staring at the water and the small ripples forming on its surface.

Most of the color had already returned to Mob's face. He looked much better.

Reigen let out a breath he had been holding. The boy would survive if the things would continue on as well as they were now. He sat down next to Dimple, keeping an eye on the boy for any signs of something being off.

"You're worried about him. Why?" Dimple asked.

The spirits sound didn't boom like usual. It almost sounded human, calm and collected. He sounded like an older man, a wise and calm one.

Reigen was taken aback. He had no idea that the large spirit could sound like that.

"Of course I do! Mob is my friend", Reigen told the spirit, dead serious.

Dimple really could be stupid and dense at times. Of course Reigen was worried about the boy! It was common sense.

"A friend?" Dimple smiled a bit. There was a hint of sadness there as the spirit held his protégé there on the surface of the lake.

There were fireflies dancing around the group now, circling and dancing in the cooling summer evening air. Their lights were visible because of the darkness around them.

"Yes, a friend", Reigen nodded, determination shining in his eyes.

Dimple closed his eyes, seemingly pleased with the answers.

"Shigeo came to me when you had first met", Dimple suddenly began a monologue, "He came to me asking for advice. I had always told him that people were evil and could do nothing but hurt each other."

Reigen couldn't help but shrug. That was pretty true. People were really good at hurting each other. Even with just words they could wound you mortally.

"Shigeo asked me if this one man could actually be nice. If he could talk with him, become friends with him", Dimple smiled at the memory. If he had only told the boy no back then, the outcome now would be a lot different.

"What did you tell him?" Reigen asked, sensing the spirit's melancholy.

"I told him nothing. Only humans can judge other humans", Dimple opened and turned one eye towards Reigen, "Shigeo could decide on his own."

"And he decided to talk to me", Reigen concluded.

Dimple nodded, minding the boy still on his nose, "That was my worst mistake. There was no holding him back after that."

"Kids grow up fast."

"They really do. Too fast."

"This is a sacred lake", Dimple spoke as they had sat in silence for another half an hour or so, "I brought Shigeo here when I first met him."

Dimple could remember how small the boy had been back then. If Dimple had tried to carry him the way he did now, he could've very well accidentally swallowed him. Not that he hadn't had the plan to do that back then.

Mob had slept the whole way to the lake that time as well, curled in his small basket surrounded by blankets and leaves the spirits had put there to keep the baby warm and comfortable.

The goddess of the lake adored humans, especially children. She would often guide lost children back home and keep them company. She appeared to them as an old woman, very gentle and kind looking. One that you would definitely let your kids close to.

She had been visibly upset when Dimple had told her that this child had no place to go home to anymore. The spirt told her the whole story. Everything he knew at that time that was.

Mob was a sacrifice, thrown away and abandoned by his village and family. The child had done nothing wrong. He had just been himself and suffered the consequences. Shamed by his family, hated by the whole village, the child would've been dead if not for the parents' move.

The child had been lucky. If Dimple wouldn't have been going through the borders of his territory that autumn, the boy's life would've ended before it had even properly begun.

The lake's spirit had lowered her head in sorrow, taking the basket from Dimple onto her lap. She moved the blanket away and brought her hand down to stroke the boy's cheek.

Mob had woken up, groggy. He had then yawned and taken the hand to his small ones, smiling wide. He wasn't even the slightest bit worried. Someone was finally showing him the love he so badly wanted.

"You poor child", the spirit had said, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, "Abandoned by those who should love you the most. Hated by those who should be your best friends. What terrible luck you have, my child."

"A human's life is fleeting. He won't last long", Dimple had simply told the spirit.

It was the truth. The life expectance of a human hadn't been that long back then and Mob's would be even shorter. Time flowed differently for people and spirits too. Mob's life would be over in a blink of an eye for the spirits around him.

"Dimple, will you care for this child?" the spirit had turned to Dimple, huge, ugly tears flowing down her cheeks disturbing the surface of the lake, "Will you love him like the father he will never have?"

"Would I have brought him to you if I wouldn't?" Dimple had simply told her, smiling a bit, "Besides, if I would say no now, no spirit here will respect me anymore."

"I trust you with his life", the spirit had said, kissing the baby's head before handing the baby, basket and all, back to Dimple, "Kageyama Shigeo, you are now one of us. Be loved and love. Life your life to the fullest."

"She came to hate humans after that. Learning what they had done to Shigeo, she couldn't love them anymore", Dimple explained, "She was finally consumed by the hate and rot. I had to kill her myself."

"She became an evil spirit?" Reigen confirmed.

"Yes. But the lake couldn't be tainted, it still remained. Her lake, the lake of life. Water is the life source of everything living and growing here."

"So, what are you exactly going to do to Mob? Are you going to kill him?"

"I already told you. Shigeo will have to become a human", Dimple told him. He sounded quite disappointed but didn't let it show, "This lake made Shigeo a spirit. It can surely turn him into just a human again."

"Is that necessary? Mob will not die if he remains here", Kinoko pointed out, "If he does not exit the forest, he will be alright."

Everything suddenly became clear to Reigen. Dimple wasn't doing this for himself or anyone of the spirits around them. He was doing this all for Mob. He was trying to do as Mob would want.

"You're making him a human because you can't keep him away."

"Correct. It was really a curse that Shigeo ever met you. I lost any control I had over him", Dimple told him, "Children really grow up too fast, but I guess that every bird has to fly out of their nest someday."

"It's been hundreds of years. I think it's fair to say that you should let go already. You got some issues, man", Reigen huffed, crossing his eyes and rolling his eyes playfully.

Dimple smiled a bit as well, only giving a little nod as a reply and a sign that he agreed. It was as if it was hard for the spirit to say and admit it all out loud. He really wasn't ready to let go of the boy just yet.

"Shigeo won't remember me when he wakes up", Dimple spoke under his breath, "He won't remember any of us."

"But why?!" Reigen screamed. Had he known this detail they could've talked things out and worked out something good for both sides. This was just unfair. Reigen didn't want it to end this way.

"It's better this way. Trust me."

"No it's not! Mob really loves you guys!"

"He needs to move on. Grow up."

"Will you really be fine with this Dimple?! Kinoko, what about you?!"

The mushroom spirit just turned away, not wanting to answer. She couldn't be honest even if she wanted to. Of course it was for the better if Mob forgot about them and his life in the forest. He could start anew and begin living with the humans, as one. It would really be the best for all of them.

"Take him with you, to a hospital", Dimple told Reigen, pulling Mob out of the lake and placing him on Reigen's awaiting hands.

It was almost as if the boy had grown a bit. He had definitely gained some weight while soaking there.

"I'll only get in trouble if I go into a hospital. They'll ask me about Mob and why he has no papers at all."

"We'll take care of that. Think of it as a parting gift", Dimple told him, nudging Reigen to leave already.

As told, Reigen ran straight into the nearest hospital with the boy in his arms.

Mob still hadn't woken up and the nurses got straight into business as they saw the state the boy was in.

Mob was still wet from his little dip in the lake. His skin had a slight red tint on the cheeks. He must be running a fever now. How jolly.

Reigen and Mob were guided into a small hospital room where Mob was first give a check-up on all the things that could be tested while the boy was unresponsive. The boy was then hooked up in several machines all measuring something vital.

Reigen was told to stay with Mob in case he woke up. The boy would definitely want to see a familiar face instead of one of the nurses or a doctor.

The thing with the missing papers was spoken about with the head doctor who also took brain scans and other more throughout tests of the boy.

Reigen lied that he had simply lost the papers as he had moved and couldn't find them in time. He hadn't wanted to risk his son's life because of some pieces of paper.

The doctor had agreed, only glad that they had made it in time. Surely a child's life is more important. He promised to make a set of new papers for the boy. He'd have them ready by the night so that there would be no more trouble with the nurses or other staff of the hospital. They always liked to ask for the papers to identify the patient they were working with.

And just as promised, the man had returned just as Reigen was enjoying his first taste of bland hospital food for dinner.

"Here we go. It was Kageyama Shigeo, wasn't it? You have a different surname?" the doctor asked as he handed the official documents to Reigen and made him sign a few papers as the adult and guardian of the patient.

"It's from the mother's side. Guess mine was too ugly or something", Reigen tried to play it off as a joke. He should've given Mob his surname when asked. Stupid.

Reigen and Mob's stay in the hospital was a peaceful one.

Mob woke up on the second day and the two were off right away. They wouldn't wait until the officials arrived, found out about the unknown boy and began asking all kinds of questions.

Just as Dimple had told Reigen, they moved right away. Out of the city and into an old house on the edges of the forest. It had been vacant for a long time but the spirits had all kept it in shape.

Dimple had made the many spirits of the forest clean the place up for them as well and fix the possible things broken. He had actually shown Reigen the place, telling him to move in there with Mob once the two were ready.

It was an old Japanese house with tatami floors and all. It only had one floor. Near the ceiling there was a small space for storage. There were a living room and a kitchen. The mattresses were stored away for the day and taken out when night came. There was no need for an actual bedroom. There was a tub in the kitchen that could be heated by lighting firewood under it. Like a hot tub but just not that modern.

The place didn't have electricity at all actually. Reigen might fix that in the future or not. He quite liked the feeling it gave.

The truck drove off, leaving the last of the duo's things for the house. They were now officially ready to move in.

Reigen pushed the front door open. It made a loud sound and finally opened, revealing the vast living room. Dust particles danced in the late afternoon light.

Reigen rolled up his sleeves.

"Welcome home, Mob. We have some work to do."

The boy was staring at the space in front of him, giving only a small nod as a reply.


	11. Chapter 11: Epilogue

Mob and Reigen moving into their new apartment went very well. They were settled in in about two weeks, having unpacked and put away all their stuff.

The cleaning had actually taken them much more time. The stuff sat in their cardboard boxes as the new tenants dusted, mopped and vacuumed the whole house. Mob ran around the house with a duster trying to find every spider web there was to remove. It had looked rather adorable.

An electrician and a plumber had both been called in to look at the possibilities they had. They had both told Reigen that it would of course be a bit more expensive than usual, since the house was so old and all, but there was nothing they couldn't done. Reigen and Mob would have them both in about a month and the workers would begin in a week's time.

Good thing that Reigen still had some savings. He'd have to take a second job when he was able to though if he wanted to support them both. He really wanted to give his new son everything he could ever want and make up for everything the boy had lost while living in the forest.

Reigen would really like to have running water as well as electricity. He himself had gotten too used to such luxuries but he also wanted Mob to live comfortably. Both the ice cold winters and scorching hot summers would be absolutely miserable without them.

Reigen also definitely wouldn't have the heart to cut down even a single tree for heating after talking with a spirit of a mushroom. Each one of the trees in the forest must have a spirit as well and it would make Reigen feel guilty knowing that he had just cut down someone's home and life source for his selfish reasons.

Mob had had to be homeschooled for almost two years. Reigen had soon learned that the boy's amnesia didn't suddenly give him all the skills a normal 14 year old would have. Moving in, the boy had stared at the writing on the boxes' sides with a frown as if trying to desperately make something out of them.

The boy hadn't known how to read or count when they had moved in. Reigen had had to become a caretaker as well as a teacher while still trying to hold a job as well as a small part-time job. He had become a super dad, and a single one at that.

It all went well. Mob was an eager and quick learner. He still struggled with math but Reigen was confident that he could place Mob in school when the next term began. Reigen believed in learning as you went. You could learn from your mistakes.

The two had visited a couple schools on their list of possibilities. It had been a fun but very tiring field trip day. Reigen had done a ton of research and picked out a handful of schools with the capacities to take care of someone as special as Mob. The teachers themselves had made Mob do some test before agreeing with Reigen. Mob could be in the class he was supposed to be, according to his age that was.

Reigen had called the school and talked things out with the principal. She had told Reigen that they could definitely sort things out and that Mob would be able to fit in just perfectly. They could have some extra lessons for the boy as well if necessary. They even had an assistant for children with special needs. They could introduce them to Mob while trying to make sure that it didn't make the boy stand out too much. Some kids liked to pick on the 'weaker' students after all.

Yes, Reigen already had a school in mind. It was in the city, only a bus drive away from where they lived at the edges of the forest. At least busses came there, no car ever seemed to drive on the road nearest to the house.

Mob was excited about the idea of going to school and meeting new people, but it also terrified him. Reigen often witnessed the boy sitting alone, nervously fiddling with the new school books they had bought as well as the fresh uniform.

Mob was slightly smaller and paler than the other boys his age. He also lacked the muscles and body hair puberty brought with it around that age. Needless to say, he looked like a little kid instead of 14. His self-esteem was very low and he lacked the confidence needed because of that.

What Reigen had observed was that the boy's character had changed a bit since leaving the forest and the world of the spirits. He was still quiet but very polite, but he had also become more cautious, meek even. Mob would often shy away from new things instead of the previous curiosity.

Mob had been diagnosed with amnesia after another visit to the doctor's. There was no visible damage to the head or brains in the scans made, which made the diagnosis rather difficult. There was no other explanation to the boy's situation though, so amnesia it was. The doctor had told them that Mob would probably never regain those memories. He might have small flashbacks but nothing else. That was how amnesia caused by trauma was. That was what the doctor had diagnosed Mob with. Of course it wasn't the truth but Reigen wasn't going to correct a thing.

Mob had seemed fine with the diagnosis, only nodding to the doctor as they left the room. No words were exchanges between the two and the doctor seemed fine with it, understanding the situation. Mob sat still and quiet the whole bus ride back home as well. Reigen made sure to give the boy space while also making sure to stay and be there for him if Mob was to break down.

The two had a heart to heart conversation that evening where Reigen made sure that the boy knew that it was all okay. Reigen would accept Mob no matter what and they would definitely manage. Reigen would be there if Mob was to ever stumble and even fall. He'd pull him up and help in any way possible. Mob's eyes had been a bit watery after that, Reigen had noticed.

Mob did remember some things, as Reigen soon noticed. He might show it by knowing the woods around them much better than a first timer should or when he would come to Reigen in the middle of the night, telling the man how he had had this weird dream. The boy would then go on and tell about the dream in great detail, telling Reigen bits and pieces about his past life in the forest.

Reigen simply told Mob that it was all a dream. He told that with a heavy heart. He was sure that knowing the details better, Mob would definitely miss the two characters he kept telling Reigen about. He was telling the man about Dimple and Kinoko.

Mob had a weird obsession with dragons as well, especially green ones. He'd draw them and Reigen would stick the papers onto their fridge. The thing was full already. It was full of drawn pictures of Dimple, red cheeks and all. Kinoko was sometimes there as well.

"Mob, it's time for breakfast! Shut the TV and come eat. I made your favorite today. It's omelet rice", Reigen shouted to the other room, sliding the omelet down from the pan and onto the plate, then carrying it to the table nearby.

Reigen had made sure to cook as much as he could and include Mob in it if possible. Homemade food was the best for a growing boy. Reigen's previous fast food diet just wouldn't do now. He had to give that one up, even if the fresh ingredients cost a bit more.

Reigen had actually began growing the things himself in their garden, researching the internet for guidance and tips on the topic late at night to the point where Mob found him slumped over the laptop, asleep, more than once.

They had a ton of tomatoes this year thanks to all the hard work. Mob had actually taken care of them after demanding on helping his guardian with the garden. He had a frog-themed watering can he used to water them. The tomatoes had the best place in the whole garden, on the sunny veranda. They turned out tasty and very red.

The cucumbers and salad had made it as well. The apples had a disease this autumn and the harvest wouldn't be as plentiful as it had been. Hoping for a better one next year, Reigen made a homemade remedy for the trees. He also sacrificed some good booze for the tree, hoping to please its possible spirits to give him apples next autumn.

The kitchen and bathroom combo had changed a bit. There was now a wall in the middle, separating the two areas. The floor was wooden and a small table sat in the middle of the kitchen. It was too small to be comfortable but the two managed. It felt like home and they wouldn't have it any other way.

"Hmm!" Mob mumbled from the main room. He was watching the morning cartoons and wouldn't have wanted to shut it down. The bad guy was just about to get what he deserved. But Mob closed the thing, stood up and lazily walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning. Did you forget? It's your first day in school" Reigen told the boy as he poured milk into the glass in front of Mob, sitting down on the opposite side of the table himself.

Mob nodded, digging in. He had packed his brand new backpack for hours yesterday evening, making sure that he would really have absolutely everything he could possibly need. Reigen had made sure that he indeed had. There must've been a bag worth of extra there as well.

Reigen and Mob had gone out to buy Mob the school uniform two days ago. Mob had been thrilled to try it on. It made him look like an adult, he had told Reigen as he had twirled around in front of the shop's mirror.

"Will you be fine on your own? I'll join you on the ride there but you will be alone after that", Reigen explained, wiping some sauce off Mob's chin before it could ruin the suit Mob had already put on in all his excitement.

"Hm!" Mob nodded, mouth full of food.

Reigen was afraid that the boy would end up with an upset stomach if he ate like that. It wouldn't be a good way to start school.

"The teacher promised that she'd show you around after the opening ceremony. You'll get your schedule from her as well so you know where you're supposed to be. A student will introduce you to your class and all your new classmates after that."

Mob nodded again. They had gone through this same thing two or three times already. Mob knew it by heart already.

"I made you a packed lunch but apparently there is also a cafeteria in the school. You'll need to go check that out and decided which one you want to eat. I won't be mad if you decide to eat the cafeteria food."

The rest of the breakfast continued in the same manner, Reigen telling Mob things about the school the boy already knew and had heard several times before. Mob just kept nodded, too polite to tell the man to shut it.

Reigen and Mob went to the lone bus stop by their road.

It wasn't like the ones you saw in the bog city. The stop itself must've been years old. The paint was peeling off and moss grew on the parts exposed to the elements. At least the bench was still up and usable.

The road was in decent condition. A new pavement wouldn't hurt though. The old one was cracking from the power of the harsh winters and the summer sun.

The two waited for the bus to come and watched a bird jump up and down the street in search of food. The small bird stopped to peck at something on the road before moving a bit and repeating the progress.

The bus turned a corner and came to a halt in front of the two, just in time. The doors opened and an older man behind the steering wheel greeted the new passengers with a simple nod, taking the money offered and exchanging it to two tickets.

Mob got the window seat, watching the scenery pass by as they drove closer and closer to the school. The forest stopped and was slowly replaced by a concrete jungle. The tallest buildings rose much higher than the trees in the forest, towering over the two as they finally stepped out of the bus and onto the walkway.

Mob still wasn't a huge fan of the big city but was clearly getting used to it after all these years. The forest was still the place to be for him and would always be.

The school building wasn't the biggest there was. The other one Reigen had checked out had been at least twice this one's size. Reigen had thought that a smaller school meant less students and more student and teacher one on one time.

Mob watched the other students, possibly his new classmates, run through the gates and into the building, chatting away with each other. They all seemed to friendly and nice, Mob thought.

Still, the boy had butterflies in his stomach. What if no one wanted to be his friend? What if everyone in his class hated him? He did know that he was different from everyone else and just might not fit in.

"What is it Mob? Nervous?" Reigen asked the boy, sensing that Mob was rather anxious, maybe even a bit scared.

Reigen had expected this to happen. Mob wasn't that great with new things. They usually made him really nervous to the point that Reigen had sometimes had to step up and help.

The man could still remember their first trip to a hairdresser. Mob had been absolutely terrified of the shaver, flinching each time the lady would do as much as switch it on. Reigen himself used razors, so Mob hadn't had the chase to get to know such a piece of machinery. Reigen had held the boy's hand the whole time and they had finally left the shop with a fresh cut and only a little shaken boy. Mob had gotten an ice cream afterwards, as a small reward for doing so well. Hey, it worked with animals, so it would work with Mob.

"There's no need to be. The teacher is really nice and I'm sure your class will always like a new student", Reigen continued, giving Mob a firm pat onto the head.

Mob seemed to gain the courage needed from the small gesture from his guardian and nodded his head, giving Reigen a final look of determination before fixing the backpack on his back and taking a step towards the school.

"Have fun on your first day! Text me if something happens! I'll be here in a flash", Reigen told Mob and waved to the boy who was now walking steadily towards the building, hands firmly squeezing the shoulder straps of his bag. He was still nervous, but had clearly decided that he would get through this day no matter what.

Reigen watched the boy go until he could no longer see his protégé. When he was satisfied that Mob would be alright, he quickly turned on his heels and made a mad dash to his first job of the day.

Reigen had had to take two jobs when he had been made Mob's official guardian. Taking care of a teenage boy cost more money than Reigen could've ever expected. Who even knew that a boy that size could eat that much?

The first job of the day was Reigen's fulltime job. He was a simple salaryman. Nothing fancy and nothing well-paying. His second job would be a part time job at a local construction site. He would guide the traffic to dodge the area and use another, safer route. He didn't especially like either one of the jobs, but seeing Mob smile every day made it all worth it in the end. Even when Reigen went to bed with sore muscles and bags under his eyes from the sheer exhaustion, a single thank you after a meal of a small smile made it all almost fade away. Mob would have a good life, no matter what, and Reigen would stop at nothing to give him just that.

Mob had texted Reigen after lunch, telling the man that he could get back home by himself just fine. He knew how to ride the bus already.

When Reigen called back, asking if something had happened, Mob explained that he would tell him later, maybe at dinner. He also told Reigen to take it easy. He had seemed tired this morning and Mob didn't want his guardian to suddenly collapse and have to be taken to a hospital.

Mob told Reigen everything that had happened that day as they enjoyed a rare treat known as takeout. They had pizza and soda to celebrate Mob's first day in school. For dessert, they'd have huge servings of ice cream.

The opening ceremony had been pretty boring. Some students had been sleeping through it while even some teachers yawned. Mob's name was mentioned in the short list of new student's beginning their school this semester but the boy had not been made to stand up or anything. He had got to just sit still and listen.

The school's principal had then taken Mob and shown him around the school building, explaining everything there was to know. The lady seemed especially proud of the school's long history and good scores in the national exams. She did warn Mob about some students as there were always delinquents in every school no matter what they tried.

The principal had ended her round at the door of Mob's home class, where the homeroom introduced him to the class as soon as Mob had stepped in.

Mob had been nervous to stand in the front, watched by every other student.

The class was decent-sized and there weren't that many students. Maybe around twenty, Mob quickly counted as he was guided to his seat at the back. It was the only seat available and Mob gladly took it, not liking to sit in the front where the teacher and other students could see everything he did. He could at least have some peace at the back.

As Mob was unpacking his stuff, a hand came onto his shoulder and tapped there a couple times. It was Mob's new neighbor wanting to introduce himself to the new kid. He had told that his name was Hanazawa Teruki and that he was really hoping that they could become friends.

The blond had spotted the boy at the opening ceremony and decided right there and then that the two would become friends. There was a mysterious aura about the raven head and Teruki couldn't help but feel drawn to it. He desperately needed to know more about the boy.

Mob had introduced himself as well, telling Teruki that he wouldn't mind if the blond called him 'Mob' as his guardian called him that.

The blond had been glued to Mob's side through the whole day. They even ate lunch together on the roof, Teruki's secret hideout.

Everyone else seemed to flinch away from them where ever they went, giving the blond some space. Mob later learned that Teruki was a bit of a troublemaker, popular with the delinquents and sometimes joining in on the fights between the rivaling schools.

That didn't mean that Teruki was a bad person though. Looks could be very deceiving. The blond hair wasn't a sign of rebellion. It was the boy's natural color, from his mother's side. The hair was a mess only because it couldn't be tamed. Teruki had given up at some point and just let it stick to every direction. He did try and style it a bit at times.

The two had quickly found a common topic to talk about, the supernatural. Both were keen believers and talked even about the possibility of life outside our galaxy. They both had a wild imagination and loved to share their theories with one another. They had promised to continue tomorrow as the day had come to an end before they had properly gotten started.

Mob would later join a club and get a couple more friends.

After an incident with the Telepathy Club under threat of demolition and the president of the club, Mob got to know the Body Improvement Club. Mob had seen it all as an opportunity to improve his weak self-esteem and gain some muscle, a dream he had had for some time already. The club's president as well as the other members had quickly taken the boy under their wing and begun to slowly get Mob into body building.

Mob wasn't the best student in class. He wasn't the worst either though. He almost failed his math classes and the literature class was a pain. He was a slow learner and often had to take some extra classes or just be tutored by a classmate.

The classmates didn't make fun of Mob's learning problems. If something, they tried to make sure that every teacher knew it and would make sure even Mob understood. Their homeroom teacher had shared the boy's situation with the whole class during Mob's second day of school. With permission from both Reigen and Mob.

Despite all this, Reigen wasn't mad at all. He had no reason to be. He had never liked school and had failed classes as well as just ditched them. If Mob would fail once or twice, it was only important that the boy learned a lesson from it all. He wouldn't mind a bad report card as long as Mob was happy with it. If Mob would be disappointed, then Reigen would make sure to act accordingly. He wasn't that bad at math, he could give some help.

It had been years since then. Mob had grown up and Reigen had gotten old.

The two still lived in the same house by the forest. Though the forest itself had gotten a bit smaller when the city had expanded, the house was still the same as ever.

Mob had graduated from school and went to a University to study literature of all things. He had gotten into writing during his first years of school. The teacher had been really nice and let Mob read through her books, helping him whenever the boy had any difficulties learning or understanding. Mob had fallen in love with fantasy. The adventures and characters seemed like something right out of the dreams Mob would always see. He felt almost as if he had found an explanation.

Mob finally put his dreams into a paper and finally into a book. It was a children's book, teaching about the importance of a family and that it didn't need to be a mother and a father to make it one.

Mob illustrated the whole book himself as well. His style was very fitting to the fairytale style of the book. It wasn't accurate half of the time and the colors were often a bit off, but it appealed to the kids. Mob painted and drew out of love to art, not to be famous or even skilled.

One day while Mob was writing his second book, a continuation to the first one that had been a huge success, a man visited the duo's house.

Reigen was in the garden that time, weeding his precious garden. He was quite surprised to see anyone. They sometimes had guests in but not so often that he could ever expect one.

"Did you always look this old or is it the sun?" the man leaned onto the wooden fence surrounding the lot and grinned.

Reigen stood up from where he was crouched down on the ground and wiped sweat off of his forehead. He fixed the straw hat on his head to get a good look of the man that had just insulted him.

"Dimple?!" Reigen had to exclaim. Of course it had to be him. No one else made such remarks out of the blue.

The man was dressed sharp. He had on the same black suit and a red tie he had worn some years before despite the summer heat. He didn't seem to mind though. He wasn't even sweating. Of course not, Dimple was a spirit.

"The one and only!" Dimple clapped his hands together, "In all his glory!"

"Where have you been all this time? Why didn't you come sooner?" Reigen asked.

He was maybe a bit pissed off that the spirit appeared before them now of all times. He could've come a bit earlier, when Mob might've still believed the story about the weird man being his distant cousin or something. They could've had a future together.

"I came as soon as I could", Dimple huffed, "I travel a lot, you know."

Reigen shrugged back, "You travel?"

"I left the forest and began doing what I did before. I had no reason to really stay."

Reigen knew that the spirit was talking about Mob. Dimple didn't have a reason to stay in the forest now that Mob wasn't there with him. Maybe he had even wanted to get away to forget the loneliness he must've felt.

"So, how is he?" Dimple finally asked, nervously kicking the ground beneath his feet.

"Mob is doing great. The new book is a bit of a struggle though", Reigen explained, pointing a finger towards the open veranda doors.

Mob was in the living room, sitting on the floor in front of a laptop. He hadn't heard or noticed the stranger in the garden. He had several papers scattered all around him as well as an array of pens and other office supplies. Three mugs of either coffee or tea sat next to him.

"A writer's block", Reigen smiled a bit, seeing his boy so frustrated. He was really working hard. It made Reigen both worried and proud.

Suddenly, there was a loud bark and a flash of something white running towards the two men.

"Hey! No barking!" Reigen shouted, smirking as he saw how scared the spirit was.

A huge white dog had ran to Dimple and was now staring him like it wanted to kill the man. A guard dog would always be a guard dog and right now, Dimple was a stranger in the wrong place. The dog had to protect its masters

"That's no dog! That's a horse!" Dimple told Reigen, trying to dodge the dog's long snout and wagging tail.

"It's a dog. Mob's dog to be exact", Reigen explained, "He is a Borzoi, a Russian Wolfhound."

The dog seemed to calm down a bit as it sat down, panting hard.

The dog was white in color with some grey markings there and there. What stuck the eye the most was the size though, and the weird shape of the head.

"Shigeo has a dog?" Dimple asked as he carefully pet the dog's head, flinching when the creature moved to sniff the hand.

"Yeah. He rescued the dog some years ago. He had been abused and didn't do that well locked in a shelter. Not that I can blame him, I'd go crazy too."

"Dimple!" there was a sudden shout, "Come back here! Reigen won't be happy if you're in the flowerbed again!"

The dog turned its large head, having recognized its name and ran back inside the house.

"He named a dog after me?" Dimple asked, not knowing what to think. He didn't know whether to be offended or proud. It was a dog they were talking about.

"Well, he didn't name him after you exactly. He does not technically know you, remember?" Reigen pointed out.

"Guess so", Dimple shrugged.

The two men watched the Mob greet his dog, the majestic beast curling down next to the young man's feet. Mob then stretched his whole body and tried his best to get back to working on his book. He rubbed his eyes and began to furiously type something onto his laptop. Inspiration seemed to have struck the man hard.

A smile found its way onto Dimple's lips. His boy would be alright. He had always been.

"I'll come back some day. Maybe you can introduce me to Shigeo then", Dimple waved to Reigen before disappearing again, leaving for yet another adventure.


End file.
